Tale of the Moon
by DudeWithoutThePlan
Summary: The world changed. The year is 2029 and humanity progressed much after The Fall. Whether humans liked it or not they all awoke personas. Some willingly and others not so much. Schools got re-purposed to help people control their new power. But something is on the horizon. Something dark. My name is Kazuma Naoki. I'm a persona user and this is my tale. My Tale of the Moon.
1. Awakening of a Fool

**Disclaimer: Persona series belong to their rightful owners. The only thing I own are the OCs.**

* * *

"Agi!" My opponent shouted as he summoned his persona to attack me. I winced as the fire burned through me and sent me flying.

"Kazuma Naoki is unable to keep fighting! Shinohara Hajime wins!" the proctor announced and I got up.

I was what you would call a dead last. A failure.

A-

"Of course I'd win. I was against the Dobe."

Yeah.

That's me.

The guy that I just lost to is Shinohara Hajime. He's kind of the top dog around here. Best grades during classes.

Strongest persona amongst the students here.

Some god or whatever.

Me?

Oh I don't have a persona.

I guess I'm special eh?

I don't even know why I'm in this school to begin with!

"Kazuma-san. Get up and go to the infirmary." The proctor spoke. I liked him.

He was fair.

"Why bother with yomawushi like him?" Shinohara spoke with a grin on his face "We shouldn't waste medicine on trash."

Wow. Charming fellow ain't he?

I wordlessly got up and after picking my sword I made my way to the infirmary.

The nurse there was kind to everyone who got there-

"Wow. Again Naoki-chan?" she asked. She was tall. Taller than me by a head with blonde hair reaching her lower backside. Her eyes were large, round and sky blue. Her face was round shaped and her body was shapely. I guess people would call her hot. I know some guys that were talking about wanting to ask her out. The only turn off was her chest. Or lack of…

I nodded. She pouted.

This was Mikan Ayasara. School nurse.

"I really hate when this happens." She said as she went and looked for the medicine for my burns "Just because you don't have a persona doesn't mean they should…" she stopped and sighed "Sorry. I know you don't want pity." She looked at me with her large eyes. I nodded with a slight smile. I liked her.

She was kind and fair. She stood up for what's right.

She sighed and looked down "Bad news Naoki-chan." I raised an eyebrow "We're out of medicine." I looked down. I knew what was about to happen now.

She held her hands to her chest and smiled slightly as the familiar blue card appeared. It was the Priestess arcana. She smiled widely as she clapped over the card, shattering it "Isis." She muttered as the persona appeared above her. She had long black hair with a face sporting royal features. Tied to her arms were two ornate wings colored red with golden tips. She wore red and golden bandages around her chest and hips along with her feet.

"Diarama." She said. The persona smiled before she flapped its wings and a golden light enveloped me. My wounds were healing quickly. The persona disappeared and so did the warm light. My wounds were almost healed "There. I know I'm not supposed to use personas outside of fights. But this was an emergency!" she winked and stuck her tongue at me.

I blinked.

"You're no fun Naoki-chan!"

I shrugged before looking to exit the room. She grabbed my wrist "Ah, ah, ah!" she wiggled a finger in front of my face "What do you say?"

I looked down before glancing at her. I nodded with a slight smile. She grinned and let me go "Now make sure to not stress yourself and those wounds! Oh and eat properly!"

I rolled my eyes at that before I finally left the infirmary and the school.

Guess I should explain all this to you huh?

The year's 2029.

After the Kirijo corp experimented with shadows and people experienced the Dark Hour for the first time everyone became a persona user. Some strong. Others not so strong.

To learn how to control our personas a school was created after the incident. There are four types of persona users.

First are the Nachuraru. The be all end all of persona users. They faced their shadows…their regret and guilt. After facing it they awakened their personas and can summon them. Like Ayasara-san does.

Then there are the Kyōsei. The middle ground. They want to face their shadows but they can't. They are too afraid. So they are given evokers. Special items made to summon personas but they're not nearly as strong as naturals. They force their persona out.

Then there are the rare Wild Cards. Pretty much they are those that can have multiple personas. No one knows how strong they are as they are extremely rare. You can count on your fingers how many of them are known and you'd still have spare fingers.

Which one am I?

Hate to break it to you but I got none.

No persona.

Just an ordinary guy.

That's the fourth type.

The forgetful ones. The faces in the crowd.

The cowards.

I opened the door to my house after the bus ride and sighed. It was a small apartment with two rooms and a bathroom. My kitchen and living room were combined into one and my bathroom and bedroom were across eachother. Wasn't much but it was all I could afford and still have money for food and whatnot.

It's a common thing around here. Common courtesy.

People would say 'Tadaima!'

And their family would say 'Okaeri'

If I were to say that, the rats would probably welcome me. I took off my shoes and rested my sword on the wall there. It was a common sword. Rusted all over.

Come to think of it, it was more of a club then a sword. I shrugged and prepared my food. It was ramen with both narutomaki and menma toppings. I liked to live dangerously. I ripped the chopsticks and prepared to eat.

It was at that moment that my door was busted open. I narrowed my eyes and looked at the calendar.

29th of March.

Payday.

"Naoki, Naoki! Where you at boy!?" a gruff voice spoke "C'mon out brat! I know you don't have enough money to get out of this shithole!"

Meet Kondo Hamura.

Grade A prick.

And my landlord.

Near the end of every month I gotta pay him money to stay here. Bad part is I always have to pay more for…protection.

Seeing as I don't have a persona and all.

I sighed and went to him.

"There ya are!" he breathed.

Great. He was drunk.

That meant double the pay.

"I want my money!"

Two thousand two hundred and fifty yen. Give or take. For this 'Shithole'. I reached into my back pockets to get my wallet out. He watched intently. My left hand was behind me. Chopsticks still there. I was cautious. I took my wallet out. A simple black one. Cheap too.

I counted the money before giving him the desired amount. He pushed me into the wall and took the money. He counted it before scowling "What do you think, I'm stupid?! This ain't all of it.'

I raised an eyebrow.

"Protection you piece of shit. I can't promise that some guy isn't gonna sneak in and kill you or trash the place in your sleep now can I?" he smirked as his hand slithered towards my wallet.

I narrowed my eyes and clenched my hands into fists.

"That's more like it." He took out the rest of my money before finally leaving me alone. I frowned before punching the wall there.

Life wasn't fair.

Not with people like that asshole living around.

I sighed and looked at my hand.

A bit swollen and red.

Great. I needed to bandage it.

My stomach growled.

…

It could wait.

Stomach first.

And so I sat down and started eating.

For that moment I was at peace. It was…pleasant.

Unfortunately all good things come to an end.

I went into the bathroom and bandaged my hand. After that I changed into some casual clothes and went to watch TV before going to bed.

"-in other news. Known criminal Yukimura Aya has escaped from prison. The authorities advise you against getting in contact with this person. If you have any information about the person on screen, please report it to the police." The woman on screen spoke as a picture of the criminal appeared on the screen.

Yukimura Aya.

Short, twenty years old, short red hair, green eyes and a mean look in them.

I felt a shiver down my spine.

That's a woman I don't want to be caught alone with.

I yawned as I looked for the remote.

"She was last seen near Kabukichō di-" I closed the TV and went to sleep.

* * *

Her family dead.

Her mother torn up by a vicious persona.

Her father frozen solid before blasted into chunks.

She had to get away.

The horrible, child-like laugh was heard before a card was shattered. Her path was blocked by a wall of ice.

"Now, now~" a voice sang creepily. She knew that voice. All too well. She ran from it for thirty minutes after all "Can't have you escape now, can I?" the voice seemed to smirk.

"P-Please! What did I ever do to you?!" she yelled and backed up into the cold icy wall.

"You, my dear. Didn't do anything. I just can't have any witnesses you know?" the voice explained like it was talking to a child.

The wall exploded suddenly and she ran.

"Kuso! She planted a small explosive charge and distracted me." The voice muttered before it gave chase.

She got to a shady looking apartment. It was a perfect hiding place. She climbed the stairs and tried every door silently.

* * *

Clank.

Clank.

Clank

Clank.

My eyes fluttered open at the annoying sound. Someone was trying to get in. I silently went to the door and looked through the visor. A girl was looking left and right as she tried to open my door.

A thief?

I suppose I could humor her. After all I didn't really have anything valuable to steal. I frowned and turned around.

Thud.

Shit.

I hit my shoes.

The noise alerted her and she started speaking.

"Please! Please let me in!" she whispered.

I sighed. She was scared. I opened the door.

As soon as she heard the click she busted in and closed it. She panted.

Sweat was dripping from her face and onto the floor.

I blinked.

She looked at me.

The two of us were in our pajamas.

Mine consisted of a black T-shirt and blue pants.

She wore a frilly light pink dress.

100% a rich girl.

Her hair was dark purple and of medium length. It reached a bit lower than her shoulder blades. Her eyes were also purple and her face was heart-shaped.

"S-Sorry to bust in like this. Someone's following me." She looked through the visor and sighed out. She remembered where she was and looked at me "Thanks for opening the door." She smiled.

I shrugged and went to get something to eat.

"You don't talk much do you?" she asked with an amused smile.

I shrugged again.

No point in talking anyway.

"What's your name? Mine's Mioda Sayaka."

I blinked and pointed to my Student ID.

"Kazuma Naoki-san?" she asked and I nodded.

"Good to mee-" she stopped as everything got colder.

"Here girly, girly, girly~" a voice sang from outside "Come out and play~" something scratched the metal rail outside.

"Oh no." she whispered and panicked "She found me. She found me. She found me…" she kept repeating. Over and over. She was scared. I put my hand on her shoulder and she gasped. She calmed down when she saw it was only me. I pointed at the window behind us and she got the idea. I went there and opened it before I motioned for her to jump.

It was only the first floor and there was a balcony just below my apartment. We could use it to drop down safely.

"Hey! What the fuck is going on out here!" Kondo yelled from outside the door. He gasped "You…" before a squelch sound was heard and something dripping.

"Wow. He didn't even summon his persona." The voice laughed before the owner kicked open the door. The owner saw us "There you are! And you got yourself a boyfriend too!" I didn't look to see who it was. I just jumped down alongside the girl. I rolled to absorb the impact and looked to see if the girl was okay. She was on her feet the next second and we started running.

Don't know where. We just ran.

"Go ahead!" a voice whispered "I like a good hunt."

We got some good distance between us and the criminal before we stopped to catch our breath. The girl panted like there was no tomorrow. Again.

Rich girl. Completely sure about it.

"The hell did I ever do huh?" she asked "I never hurt her. She just came and murdered everyone. I would've died too if I didn't run." She collapsed and cried "I should've stayed and fought. I should've died with everyone else. I SHOULD'VE DONE SOMETHING!" she screamed and continued to cry.

I honestly didn't know what to do.

Should I comfort her?

She's still a stranger.

I sighed and gave her an awkward as hell hug. She stiffened before she clung to me and cried, soaking my shirt.

A few minutes later she stopped and looked at me with red, puffy eyes "Thanks. I needed that." She got up "Sorry I ruined your shirt."

I shrugged.

"Well! Isn't this an emotional moment?" the voice said from behind us.

I stopped as well as the girl.

I turned around and there she was.

Yukimura Aya.

With her persona behind her. A Grim Reaper.

I gulped as the persona seemed to smirk at me.

Mioda-san was clinging onto me. She was scared.

So was I.

"Not gonna run anymore?" Yukimura spoke with her head tilted to the side. She gave feral smirk "Good."

"P-Persona!" Mioda-san yelled suddenly and a persona appeared behind Yukimura. The persona had silver colored hair with orange streaks along with a white and orange wolf mask. Her clothing consisted of a white kimono with pink floral designs. Tied to her left arm was a shield emitting flames while tied to her right hip was a small sword "Amaterasu. Agi!" the persona nodded silently before from her shield a small ball of fire was launched towards Yukimura.

She cursed as her Evoker was launched in the air.

I widened my eyes and jumped after it. I caught it and held in in my right hand.

"Dammit. How about you give me that evoker before my friend here gets mad?" The Grim Reaper seemed to snarl.

I smirked.

What was going on?

I pointed the Evoker to the right side of my head.

What was I doing?

I was sweating.

Was I gonna die?

No.

This time it was different.

There was something in the back of my mind.

Clawing to get out.

When everything was too much to bear I uttered the one word that would change everything about my life.

A word filled with power.

Beyond any comprehension.

"Per-"

It was exhilarating.

"So-"

I had all the power in the world.

"Na!"

And then I pulled the trigger.

With a giant grin on my face.

The shot echoed loudly. My face was set into a shit-eating grin. The blue shards I was so accustomed to seeing around everyone else were finally spiraling around me.

ME!

I was summoning a persona!

ME!

The shards formed.

My persona was out.

And. It. Was. Beautiful!

 **"Thou art I-"**

He was all black with white strips going down vertically. His face was made out of a golden mask pointed downwards. His eyes were a piercing scarlet. On top of his head was a crescent moon pointed upwards made out of black flames with white veins along the surface.

 **"I art thou-"**

The clothes he wore were some sort of Victorian cloak with a red inner shirt. The cloak and the shirt both had a high color bent down.

 **"From the darkness of thy soul I cometh-"**

In its right hand was a katana made out of the same bluish black flames that formed the crescent moon on top of his head.

 **"I am Tsukuyomi God of the Moon!"**

My persona stated proudly as he hovered above me.

"S-So what if you got a persona? Big deal! You just awakened it!" Yukimura yelled before she commanded the Grim Reaper to attack.

I smirked and nodded to Tsukuyomi. He simply raised his sword and dashed at the oncoming threat.

"Celestial Scar!" I yelled suddenly. Tsukuyomi seemed to smirk before kicking the Reaper away. He set into a stance as if he was drawing a sword.

"What the hell?!"

He closed his eyes before opening them roughly and dashing at the Reaper, sword drawn and flickering wildly. He flicked it as if cleaning it and disappeared soon after.

The reaper screamed in pain before he was vaporized.

Yukimura yelled and soon vomited on the ground "You…YOU FUCKING BRAT! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS! I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU!" she screamed before running away.

I smirked and looked at the black and red Evoker.

Yeah.

This was going to be great.

I passed out soon after.

"Kazuma-san!" I heard a voice yell but I didn't bother to listen.

* * *

I woke up to a soft violin and piano song. I opened my eyes and saw only blue. I looked around. A blue plane interior I think. I looked ahead of me.

A man and a woman stood there.

The man in the center. And the woman to my right.

The man smirked and looked at me.

"Welcome…to the Velvet Room."


	2. A New Perspective

**Disclaimer: Persona series belong to their rightful owners. The only thing I own are the OCs.**

* * *

I yawned as I walked the familiar path.

Same day as always. Wake up. Eat some ramen. Think about my life here and then reluctantly go to school.

Oh wait.

There was something different.

On my left hip was an Evoker.

My Evoker.

It was Yukimura's but I guess the 'you snooze, you lose' thing was real after all.

"Kazuma-san!"

A voice broke me out of my thoughts. I sighed. I knew that voice.

Mioda Sayaka.

I knew she was familiar that night.

Most popular girl in school.

Decent grades.

Decent persona.

And I guess decent personality.

"Good morning." She came and bowed near me. I noticed she wore the academy uniform. All parts of it in addition to a purple scarf tied to her waist. I just blinked and shrugged her off. Amazing how she could just spring back up after her parents' gruesome death.

Heh. Maybe she was just fucked up in the head.

Or maybe these things just didn't faze her.

"Are you alright?" she asked me "Ayasara-san said not to overextend yourself. You should rest."

"I got enough rest." I sighed out. Seriously. She was getting on my nerves.

She smiled as I spoke. Guess that's a rarity, go figure.

"The bags under your eyes say otherwise." She teased and took my hand "C'mon. You can rest during class."

I sighed again.

I'm starting to regret befriending this girl.

A crash sound was heard and time stopped around me.

A voice began speaking.

 _ **Thou art I. I art Thou. You have strengthened the Sun Arcana.**_ _ **May its radiant shine pave your way.**_

You might be wondering what that was.

Igor and Eliza explained it to me a few days ago.

Who are Igor and Eliza you ask?

Well…

Flashback!

" _Welcome…to the velvet room."_

 _Okay. This is weird._

" _Do not be alarmed. Though you are wide awake here, you are sleeping soundly in the real world." The long nosed man smirked._

" _My name is Igor. This is my assistant, Eliza." He gestured towards a young woman with pale skin, short silver hair and yellow-golden eyes. She wore a blue dress and blue high heels._

 _She nodded._

" _Greetings young guest." She bowed her head slightly._

" _What is this place?" I asked._

" _This is the Velvet Room." Igor explained "It is a place between reality and the dreaming world."_

" _Alright. That answers a whole lot." I muttered "Why am I here?"_

" _You have awoken your power. The power of the Wild Card is rather…intriguing with you."_

 _Wild Card? Me?_

 _Ha. That's a laugh._

 _It's impossible…_

 _And yet. I thought having a persona would be impossible._

 _Igor arranged the tarot cards on the table before flipping one._

 _The Moon Arcana. Upside._

" _Hmm. You are confused. And you do not know what you need to do."_

 _He flipped another._

 _It was the Tower._

" _There will be a conflict both inward and outward where you will be caught at a crossroad."_

 _He continued as he flipped another card._

 _It was the World. Upside down._

" _Will you hold the weight of the world? Or cast it aside?"_

 _The final card. Devil, upside down._

" _In the end, the choice is yours to make and no one elses."_

 _A contract appeared suddenly in my lap._

 _A single paragraph was written there._

' _I choose my fate out of my own accord.'_

 _Below it was a space to sign my name._

 _I took a pen and wrote it._

' _Kazuma Naoki.'_

" _Marvelous." Igor smiled before a blue key floated into my pocket "The next time you shall come here will be out of your own accord."_

" _Before you leave." Eliza spoke up "Make bonds with people. As these bonds may strengthen your persona. Good bye."_

 _I nodded and darkness took me._

A hand kept waving in front of my face. It didn't take a genius to know whose hand that was. I caught it by the wrist and glared slightly. She glared defiantly before I let her hand down. She giggled and fter that awkward interaction the two of us went to our first class.

Combat Practice.

* * *

"Hey did you hear? Mioda-san and that reject guy walked here together." a young man asked.

"Really? Never took her for the charity type." Another continued.

"She did lose her family overnight. Maybe she just lost it." The guy laughed before he was hit on the head by a young woman.

Tall, red haired, grey eyed with a shapely body and a mean attitude. She wore the academy uniform with a slightly longer black dress and a band on her arm. Her hair reached the middle of her back and was straight.

This was Kirijo Aoi, student council president and daughter of Kirijo Mitsuru. Some people say that her father used to be a Wild Card but those were just rumors.

"Maybe if you studied and trained more rather than gossiping you two wouldn't be competing for some of the worst scores this academy has to offer!" she growled at them.

They started sweating up a storm. I guess they heard about how her mother used to 'Execute' people.

3,2,1-

"If you don't train harder I'll _**execute**_ you!" they quickly ran past me and into the school gym. That's where Combat Practice takes place.

Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

"What are you looking at?" she asked me "Do you wish to be executed as well?"

I just shook my head before making my way to the gym.

We all stood in seven lines. I looked around trying to see if I could find someone interesting.

In the front row stood Shinohara Hajime along with Kirijo Aoi.

Two rows behind them Mioda Sayaka stood while avoiding some boys' looks.

To the rightmost of my row was a girl. She had white short hair with deep blue eyes. She wore the academy uniform alongside a long white scarf around her neck. On her right hand was a simple black glove only covering her little and ring fingers.

Some don't wear the academy uniform. It's not a very strict rule.

Take me for example. I got grey eyes and short black hair, although about a quarter of it is white. I wear a high-collared double-breasted black coat with a tattered end, blue pants and black shoes. Things I managed to buy after a long time of saving up money.(A/N: Seth from Under Night In-Birth ) But it was worth it.

So yeah. It's not prohibited to wear something else. Or make adjustments to the uniform.

In any case.

Back to the girl.

Pretty average in my opinion.

Except for one thing. If I wasn't looking straight at her I could swear she wasn't even there.

She suddenly glanced at me and I awkwardly looked away just as our teacher started talking.

He was proctor from that other day. Again. I liked him. He was fair to everyone.

He never told us his name though.

"Alright class. Starting today we'll have a mock tag team tournament between us. That's to develop teamwork and to get a feel of eachother's abilities. Now no arguments about who partners up with whom. Names are in the hat." he quickly added "If two damaging types get paired up they get another draw until they pair with a sensory type."

Again.

He was fair.

I noticed that Ayasara-san was also present. Probably to heal anyone that got hurt during the fights. She saw me staring and smiled at me. I simply turned my attention elsewhere.

First was Shinohara. He got an average looking guy that was happy about the easy win.

Next was Mioda. She got a shy girl. Never talked much with her.

Then again I didn't talk much with anyone.

I waited my turn before I went there and got a paper slip. The teacher waited for me to say the name.

"Kirijo Aoi." I muttered loud enough to be heard.

That sparked some amusement from everyone.

"The dead last with Kirijo Aoi. Wow."

"Never thought I'd see this day. A yomawushi with one of the best."

The woman in question simply walked next to me before we went into a more private corner to talk strategies.

"So I assume you are a damaging type…?" She left the phrase hanging. She was fishing for my name.

"Kazuma. Kazuma Naoki." I responded "And yes. I am a damaging type persona user." Damn it felt good to say that.

"How come, seeing as you don't have a persona?" She asked.

Why that little…

"Well we're about to see that aren't we?" I asked sarcastically.

"Maybe." She narrowed her eyes before the teacher yelled at everyone to get ready.

"First fight will be-" he fished around for some names "Kazuma Naoki and Kirijo Aoi versus-" he got another slip "Shinohara Hajime and Noboru Haru."

Shinohara smirked "Wow. Handing us a freebie like that? Feel bad for Kirijo-san." He got off the wall he was leaning on and made his way to the arena as the others cleared out.

The tag team duel worked like this: the sensory types would stay back and try to get a read on the opponent's next moves and weaknesses while the damaging type persona users would attack the enemy.

It was an unwritten rule that you don't attack the sensory type.

It wasn't illegal but it was frowned upon.

"Wow Dobe. And I thought you had enough after our last fight." Shinohara spoke as we went to choose our weapons. He chose his short sword. He always chose that. I didn't need to choose anything. My rusty sword was on my hip.

"3."

"You're gonna lose again yomawushi."

"2."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." I couldn't help but smirk.

"1."

"I'll beat that smirk off your face dobe."

"Start!"

And with that yell we both dashed at one another. Our swords clashed but it was obvious he was gaining ground. I smirked before leaning out of the way and kicking him towards my side of the field. I briefly glanced at Kirijo's persona.

It was definitely female and somewhat human in appearance. She had a red suit with a white masquerade mask tied to a stick held in her left hand. Her hair was long and flowing. Like a river. A red river. In her other hand was a thorny rose with its stem long. Like a whip. On her head was a crown made out of red and white roses.

I shook my head as my opponent got up.

He growled and raised his left hand. A card floated in front of his face. He smirked and slashed it into pieces "Persona!" he roared and it appeared.

Kagutsuchi.

A large four legged creature made out of red, black and orange flames. The only way to discern the eyes were their brighter color, same as its teeth.

It hissed once before fire was sent towards me. I dodged this time and started running to the right.

" _Dodge!"_

I listened and stopped before backflipping away from the pillar of flame that appeared. That was an 'Agilao' spell. Way too strong for a student here.

" _No time to think. Got any ideas how to win this?"_

" _That Noboru kid is reading my moves way too well. I'll need to distract him somehow."_

" _And how do you propose that?"_

" _Kirijo-san… I got the perfect plan."_

" _I'm all ears."_

" _Just try and distract Shinohara."_

I smirked as I dodged another 'Agi' spell. I looked at Noboru and flooded my mind with thoughts.

He blushed suddenly before his nose bled and recoiled.

Yes! Works every time!

With that out of the way I went back to dealing with Shinohara. I turned around and fire engulfed me.

"NO!" Mioda yelled from the sidelines.

"Ah finally. Nice try Kirijo! I knew what you were about to do from the start." He smirked as he dusted himself "I think this battle is done teach. Unless you want the Dobe to bur-"

"PERSONA!" I yelled and pulled the trigger.

The fire that previously engulfed me disappeared in a spiral of wind as Tsukuyomi appeared behind me. The Evoker was smoking while at the temple of my head and I smirked.

"Garuda!" I yelled and with a flick of his wrist Tsukuyomi summoned a small tornado of compressed wind at Shinohara's position. He dodged but I was after him while Tsukuyomi handled Kagutsuchi. I raised my katana and slashed. It was blocked albeit barely. I smirked as a black flame started engulfing my sword. Seems Tsukuyomi had more tricks up his sleeves.

I pressed down as I had the advantage.

"What the hell are you!?" he yelled.

I didn't answer. I just grinned ferally.

I cut through his short sword before grabbing him and throwing him in the other side of the arena. I smirked as Tsukuyomi did the same with Kagutsuchi. I nodded at him and we both set into the same stance.

We closed our eyes and concentrated.

" _Kirijo-san. Give me the locations where he'll strike!"_

" _On it."_

"Celestial Scar!"

We opened our eyes and dashed at our respective opponents.

Growling, Shinohara ordered his persona to send more 'Agilao' spells at us.

" _Left."_ I dodged left _"Another left."_ I did so again _"Right. Straight ahead. Watch out. He's going to make a wall of fire in front of him."_

I smirked and went straight past him. I hit the wall and propelled myself back and slashed at his back.

He yelled in both mental and physical pain. Kagutsuchi was cut in half and was slowly vaporizing while Shinohara was writhing on the ground. I smirked and looked at Tsukuyomi. He looked at me.

I smiled and he gave out a triumphant roar before disappearing back into my soul.

I looked at my hand and clenched.

I got the power to strike back.

Finally!

"How the hell did you get that strong!?" Shinohara got up and glared at me. Seems he got over the pain rather quickly.

I shrugged "Stuff happened."

"You gotta be shitting me. I got beaten by the dead fucking last." He glared at the ground "And since when do you have a persona?"

"As I said. Stuff happened."

"Yeah fucking right. You did something and I'll find out what that was. And then I'll get stronger than you!-"

Crash.

Time stopped.

Oh God no.

 **Thou art I. I art thou. You have established the Emperor arcana. May its boundless ambition be your guide.**

I'm strangling whoever said that.

"-And then we'll see who's the strongest!" he growled.

Regardless. The two of us shook hands and walked away.

"Kazuma-san." Kirijo said as we walked towards the sidelines.

"Kirijo."

"How exactly did you distract Noboru-san?"

Shit.

"Well you see…?" I looked at my watch "Would you look at the time?! I have to go!" I ran away, my left and right arm bare.

"I'll execute you!" she roared and ran after me.

Crash.

Oh come on!

 **Thou art I. I art thou. You have established the Empress arcana. May its relentless justice guide your heart.**

After finally escaping Kirijo I managed to get back at the gym. It was Mioda's turn to fight.

The way she fought was elegant. Precise. She didn't have much strength behind her attacks but she knew how to use them properly.

After a well-placed Agi spell she won. She smiled before looking at me happily. I nodded with a slight smile before she thanked her partner and made her way to me.

"Kazuma-san! What did you think? About that fight?"

"You did good." I shrugged.

She beamed with happiness before looking down.

I raised an eyebrow "Are you alright?"

"Yea-…No." she sighed "It just. It feels weird to live at that place now."

Ah. I get it. She had survivor's guilt.

"I know what you're thinking." I started "And it's not your fault."

"Kazuma-san I-"

"No."

"But I-"

"Just no. It's not your fault that Yukimura killed them. You should look on the bright side of things. Their deaths let you live. You can live for them." Felt weird saying something like this. Then again it was weird that I was talking this much to begin with. Might as well go full weird.

"Kazuma-san…" she smiled with unshed tears in her eyes "Thank you." She grinned and hugged me quickly.

Crash.

Again?!

 **Thou art I. I art thou. You have strengthened the Sun arcana. Its radiant lights shall guide thee on the righteous path.**

"Yeah…" I spoke up awkwardly "This is awkward."

"Oh. Sorry." She let go and looked at the arena "Huh. She's fighting?"

"Who's she?" I widened my eyes a bit. That girl from earlier.

"That's Atisuto Hana. She's a year above us and she's an enigma."

"How so?"

"She barely talks-like someone I know." She teased me.

"Ha-ha." I sarcastically laughed.

"And she never once showed her persona."

"So she's like me?"

"No. You awakened your persona on that night. She could use spells like 'Agi' and such ever since she came here."

"Then how does she use those spells?" Now I was curious.

"You'll see."

"Start!"

The fight started and the opposing team was already on the offensive.

That Atisuto girl started…drawing? She finished in a split second and tore the small paper off before she threw it at the oncoming attack. A large blast of fire was sent that way. The enemy was forced to dodge before another hit came. This time in the form of a lightning strike from above.

It connected and the fight was over.

Two moves.

She used two spells and it was all over.

And she didn't even move from her spot.

"See what I mean?" she asked.

"Yeah." I nodded and looked down.

I had a long way to go before I could get on that level.

* * *

 _I woke up suddenly._

 _That dream. It felt so real._

" _Hey. You're alright." Mioda smiled. She was sitting down next to my bed._

 _Wait._

 _My bed?_

 _Where was I?_

 _I looked around. White._

 _Ah._

 _Hospital._

" _You've been asleep for a whole day." She said._

 _A whole day? Wow._

 _I suddenly remembered._

 _I was probably having it better than her._

" _You alright?" I asked._

 _She gasped._

" _You…You talked!" she pointed at my face._

" _It's a miracle." I sarcastically said._

 _She snickered before looking down "I'm not that good. My family's dead." She looked ready to cry._

" _I see. You're lucky." I said._

" _How is that lucky?!" she screamed "You got no idea how it is to lose your whole family and watch the psycho do it!"_

 _I let her scream all she wanted._

" _You're right. I got no clue how it is to lose family." I said as I stretched "But at least you had them to lose."_

" _Huh?"_

" _I'm an orphan. Never knew my family. They supposedly died in some freak accident."_

" _I'm sorry." I grunted and flicked her on the forehead._

" _You didn't do anything. And I guess I was a bit of an ass." I scratched my cheek._

" _Yeah." She sniffled once before laughing "You were."_

" _So. Are you alright?"_

 _She looked down before grinning at me._

" _I am now."_

 _I smiled at her grin._

 _ **Thou art I. I art thou. Thou have established the Sun arcana. May its hopeful rays guide thee.**_

* * *

 **A/N: Yomawushi: Coward, Wimp.**


	3. Friend and Rivals

**Disclaimer: Persona series belong to their rightful owners. The only thing I own are the OCs.**

* * *

"Kazuma-san. Kazuma-san!" Mioda's voice startled me.

"What?" I asked with a grunt.

She backed up a bit before saying "Do you know where Kirijo-san is?" she asked.

"How should I know?" I raised an eyebrow "We're just partners for this mock tournament."

"Oh." She said with…relief? I'm not sure.

Ah whatever.

I went back to watching everyone fight. The doors opened and in walked a red faced Kirijo Aoi. Her eyes scanned the room and locked onto me.

"There you are!" she proclaimed and used her persona to jump towards me "Prepare to be executed!" she smirked and prepared to, well. Execute me.

"Sorry Kirijo-san." Mioda smiled sweetly, almost too sweet, as she went slightly in front of me "Kazuma-san is trying to relax."

"Oh he'll relax after I'm done executing him." She glared at me "Now, you are coming with me. We are the partners for this tournament. You cannot stay around enemies." Her focus switched to Mioda.

"Same can be said about you Kirijo- **san**." Mioda smiled again.

Anyone with half a brain could see it was forced.

I blinked and found myself in the middle of a tug-o-war, literally!

You see, I was cosplaying as the rope.

And the two girls were the ones who were pulling.

I sighed and as the two were glaring at one another I managed to slip away, leaving my coat to take the damage.

You will be remembered Coat. I hope to see you again if you survive.

I yawned before sitting down in the almost endless rows of bleachers.

A small, annoyed cough was heard to my right.

I looked for the source and found it.

Her.

I found her.

The drawing girl.

And she was looking at me in an annoyed way.

We both stared at one another. She relented and went back to drawing.

HA! I am the master of staring.

I resisted smirking before I glanced at what she was drawing.

I widened my eyes.

She was drawing Tsukuyomi.

And she was doing a good job.

"Stare." She muttered as she started adding some shadows to the picture.

I scowled and looked away.

My pants were being tugged at. I turned to look at her.

She simply put up her picture and pointed at a part of it. It was the head part. She didn't draw it like it was supposed to. She didn't draw the crescent moon part.

"He's got a crescent moon on top of his head." I said.

She looked to be in thought before nodding and getting to work.

I looked at her before scoffing.

She was weird.

And this was coming from me.

"Arigatou." She muttered as she finished the drawing. She closed the book before I could sneak a peek and continued watching the battle.

"The second round starts now! Kazuma Naoki and Kirijo Aoi please present yourselves at the arena."

I smirked before jumping down there. Sword and Evoker ready as my partner joined me.

"How did the tug-o-war go?"

"I should execute you right now."

"Yeah, yeah. Where's my coat?"

"Mioda Sayaka-san kept it for you." I nodded before getting ready.

"Titania!" Kirijo-san said as she summoned her persona _"Ready?"_

" _Of course."_

I smirked and set into a stance.

Evoker in my left hand.

Sword in my right.

I put my Evoker to my head and pulled the trigger.

"PERSONA!" I yelled and the fun started.

* * *

Her head felt like it was about to split open.

It was all that stupid boy's fault. If he wasn't there this wouldn't have happened. She would still have her Evoker and on her merry way with her plans.

She looked at her room in anger.

The medicine she managed to steal in this condition didn't do jack shit.

Her phone rang suddenly.

She groaned and picked up.

"What?" she growled.

"…"

"Of course I can do it."

"…"

"Fuck no. Anyone but that guy."

"…"

"Look…Give me a few days. I can do this. By the end of this month the plan will be in full force. Trust me."

"…"

"Yeah, yeah. You do that." She grunted and threw the phone away.

A couple of knocks were heard at the door.

"Are you okay in there miss?" a young man asked "Should I call an ambulance?"

She smirked before speaking in a pained voice "If I could just get an Evoker. So I can heal myself."

"I got one on me. Please open the door." She grinned evilly as she grabbed a kitchen knife and got to the door.

"Are…Are you alone?" she asked. Putting up a shy, hurt façade.

"Yeah."

"Oh thank God." She smiled as she opened the door. She grabbed him and pulled him inside, tripping him on the way in. She turned around, closed the door and pounced on him.

"Y-You…!" he stopped after her knife was thrust in his gut. Before he could scream she already covered his mouth with her hand.

"Yeah. Me." She stabbed once "Me." She took the knife out before starting to peel away at his flesh "Me!" she smiled as he cried through her hand "ME!" she yelled with glee as she stabbed him in the chest over and over. Blood flew over the walls. It began seeping through the floor cracks. She smiled as she got off of him. The blood was on her back and she smiled before licking the knife and her fingers.

She moaned before getting up and picking up his Evoker. She pointed it at her forehead and pulled the trigger. The headache was gone in the second her persona materialized. He roared and growled as he looked around.

"I know. I know. We'll kill the Teme soon enough."

The Reaper smirked before vanishing.

"Now! To clean up before getting the hell out of here."

She skipped towards the bathroom.

* * *

"The winners are Kazuma Naoki and Kirijo Aoi!"

Another one bites the dust.

A guy could get used to this whole persona power thing. I smiled slightly as I climbed the stairs with my partner.

"Great fight Kazuma-kun!" Mioda said as she went up to me, my coat on her shoulders.

Kun?

"San. I meant Kazuma-san!" Mioda blushed before looking away.

"Eh." I shrugged. It was just an honorific.

"Wait, you're not mad?" Kirijo asked.

"No. Should I?"

"She showed disrespect to you. She should wait for you to give permission to call you like that."

"That's stupid."

"Anyway. I guess having her as a partner didn't drag you down Kazuma-kun."

Ouch.

Burnt.

"And what is that supposed to mean Mioda-san?" Kirijo gained a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"Exactly what you think it means Kirijo-san."

I watched as the two glared at one another.

"Mioda."

"Very nice clothes Mioda-san. Exactly like your average grades."

"Mioda."

"Same could be said about the amount of makeup you use. It's directly proportionate to your large amounts of good grades."

"Ano. Mioda-san." A shy voice spoke but it was ignored. I glanced at the owner and saw a young girl. She was a first year judging by her uniform. She saw me look at her and made an 'eeep' sound. Kind of like a mouse before looking away "Umm. Are you Mioda-san's friend?"

"I guess. You need anything?" I spoke hoping to calm her down. She just got even more scared and looked down.

Wow.

I couldn't be that scary, could I?

"Teacher said that we're supposed to fight now." She said and glanced at Mioda "But I guess she's more interested in talking to Kirijo-sama."

Sama?

Now that's a new one.

I wouldn't call Kirijo 'sama' even if you threatened me!

Anyway it wasn't my place to ask about that so I just shrugged.

When in doubt, shrug!

Works like a charm.

In any case I started listening in on their conversation.

"I like your hair. Did you get the conditioner at half price?"

"Weird. We must have bought it from the same place then. Then again I know that you would have trouble paying that much."

"Mioda." I tried again.

She ignored me again. I sighed before I got between them.

They stopped.

"Mioda. You and your partner need to fight now."

"Oh! Thanks Kazuma-kun!" she said before taking off.

I caught her wrist.

"W-What is it?"

"My coat?" I raised an eyebrow as I let her go.

"Oh. Here." She took it off and handed it to me "Wish me luck." She waved and after her partner bowed the two left.

"Trouble."

"Huh?" I turned around to look at Kirijo.

"Take a look to see who they are fighting."

I did just that.

I grimaced.

It was that Atisuto girl.

She looked as calm as ever.

"Kirijo-san. You are classmates right?"

"Yes? Why?"

"What is her persona?"

"I don't know. I never saw it. She simply draws her attacks."

"I never heard about those kinds of techniques."

"They are rare. Everyone can summon their personas differently."

"I guess." I shrugged before I saw Midoa get demolished.

Two moves again.

A 'Bufu' spell followed by a 'Zio' one.

"I'm sorry Midoa-san. It's my fault that we lost." The shy girl said as they walked towards us.

"It's not your fault Touka-san. That girl is a monster."

"You can say that again." I spoke "You shouldn't feel bad about losing to her. She's strong from what I can see."

"Kazuma-kun…" Mioda smiled.

"The final battle is about to begin. The final combatants please proceed to the arena."

"That's us." I said as I stretched "C'mon, Kirijo." I smirked as we entered the arena. We were supposed to fight Atisuto. I get a shot at this beast of an opponent.

"3."

My hands were shaking.

"2."

Shaking with so much excitement.

"1."

I'm loving this!

"Start!"

"Titania!"

"Tsukuyomi!"

Kirijo and I wasted no time summoning our personas. This was going to be troublesome if we left our guard down.

"Garuda!" I said and my persona followed.

Atisuto merely tore a few pages and threw them in the oncoming wind stopping it flat in its way.

" _A Wind Barrier? I didn't detect her thinking that."_

" _Just be on your guard."_

She threw another sheet of paper before it burst into flames and flew my way.

Not good.

I winced as I dodged by turning a particular awkward angle.

I looked up. A few dozen more fireballs were heading towards me.

Fuck me right?

I cursed before being forced to dodge.

" _Well this is getting us nowhere."_

" _No shit."_

I smirked suddenly. I rolled out of the way and slashed a fireball away with Tsukuyomi's help before breaking into a sprint towards her. Tsukuyomi followed and dashed towards her.

She widened her eyes, not expecting that.

She must have seen something.

Maybe it was my shit-eating grin.

Maybe it was bloodlust.

I don't know what she saw.

But she was scared.

She frowned slightly before she tore a single piece of paper.

She muttered a single word.

A familiar word.

A word that everything is based on around here.

"Persona…"

And all hell broke loose.

A black tear in space appeared before two hands grasped it from the inside of wherever it was.

An inhuman roar was heard before the hands tore through that tear and out came her persona.

It was grotesque.

A red skeleton perched upon a white throne made out of decaying bones. The skeleton's head sported two small horns of the same color with extremely long black hair. Its eyes glowed red before the black tear closed.

Absolute silence.

" _What in the world is that?!"_

" _I got no fucking clue. But it sure is scary."_

" _I suggest you retreat."_

" _I never ran from a fight. Not gonna start now."_ Especially now that I have a Persona.

And yet.

My body wouldn't move.

It just wouldn't budge.

I managed to look at Tsukuyomi.

He was in the same predicament as I.

It started floating towards us.

" _Get out of there Kazuma-san. That…thing will kill you!"_

"A-AGI!" Mioda yelled from the stands as she summoned her persona. The fireball hit and in spite of the distance it managed to disrupt the persona. It fell of the throne and for a second I dared to hope it wouldn't get up.

But it did.

It got up, hissed and started crawling towards me.

Atisuto-san screeched in pain. Her persona must be causing her pain.

I fell down as its hisses chilled me to the bone.

Its body crawled unnaturally.

It was bending its arms at a wrong angle to move and it was coming for me.

Fast.

"Someone stop it!" Mioda yelled but no one was listening. Even our teacher was scared out of his wits. Our poor nurse actually fainted.

That lucky woman.

That scream attracted the persona's attention. It stopped before it started crawling towards Mioda.

She was stricken with fear at that moment before she tried to run.

In her haste she tripped and the thing started gaining on her.

I watched as it was almost on her.

There had to be something I could do.

I had to move.

Move dammit.

I HAVE TO MOVE!

MOVE!

I managed to move but I wasn't going for Mioda.

I was crawling backwards.

I really was a yomawushi.

My hand touched my Evoker.

Huh?

I forgot I dropped it.

I looked as the thing grabbed Mioda's leg.

Her fight or flight instinct kicked in and started struggling.

Wait a second.

I already went through this once.

Yeah…This bloodlust. This complete darkness.

I've been through this before.

Yukimura…

She paralyzed me completely on that night.

It was like this.

Dammit, if I managed to survive that I can survive this!

I need to save her.

PICK UP THE EVOKER!

Yeah…

I got up.

DO IT!

SAVE HER DAMMIT!

"PERSONA!" I roared, pulled the trigger and once again Tsukuyomi appeared. He seemed to smile as he gazed upon me "Let's take her out Tsukuyomi!" I looked at him.

He nodded and dashed at the thing alongside me "Moon Fang!" The two of us both stabbed the grotesque persona. I from the back. My persona from its front.

It turned its head backwards to look at me before the rotting head smiled.

It gave out a screech before it vanished in the same manner it appeared.

I nodded to Tsukuyomi who simply disappeared soon after.

I looked down at Mioda to see her looking up at me.

I sighed and kneeled down before giving her a hug.

At that moment she cried.

She cried more than on that night.

I knew something was wrong.

Her family's death obviously fazed her.

She was just keeping a façade.

She was acting.

She was pretending.

Trying to bottle it up inside and hope she forgets it.

That persona must have triggered those feelings in her.

And now she was back to square one.

"Arigatou. Arigatou." She yelled as she cried in my chest.

I did my best to soothe her but what the hell was I supposed to do?

Knowing nothing about what I was supposed to do I just stood there, hugging her and letting her cry her heart out.

"I'm sorry." That voice made me angry.

"You could explain what that was…"

"Persona. Izanami."

"That…was Izanami?" Kirijo-san said as she went up to us. People were regaining their motor function.

"Yes. Sorry." She said as she looked away.

"Whatever. Try to control it whenever you summon it." I muttered angrily before I sighed "But…But thanks for the apology."

"No problem."

"You kids alright?" Our teacher asked as he came there "I'm sorry about…"

"You should have been there to help us! And you call yourself a teacher? I should have you executed!"

Guess who said that.

That might have seemed like a bitch move. But damn if she wasn't right.

"Naoki-chan!" Ayasara-san ran towards us "Are you alright? I mean. Is everyone alright?" she asked as she kneeled to check up on Mioda.

"I'm alright." I sighed "You?" I looked at Kirijo. She nodded.

I looked at Atisuto "What about you? Atisuto-san?"

"I'm not injured."

"And what about your head?"

"Hurts."

"Then you are injured."

"Alright let's get Mioda-san to the infirmary. Classes are suspended for today." We nodded before I tried to get Mioda off of me. She tightened her hold on me and refused to let go. Great.

I picked her up and we went to the infirmary.

Ayasara-san already prepared the sedative and injected Mioda with it. She was asleep soon after and I put her on the bed there.

"Alright. I can take care of it from here." Ayasara-san smiled "I take it you'll speak to the headmaster about this?"

"Great. He'll drill into me like a madman…" our combat practice teacher cursed before laughing "At least no one got seriously hurt. See you around."

"And now for your head Atisuto-chan!" she opened a drawer and took out a medicine pack and popped out a pill "Here. Do you need some water?"

The girl in question took the pill and downed it in a second.

"Arigatou." She spoke before looking into her draw book.

She ripped a page and handed it to me.

"Huh?" I looked at it.

It was a detailed drawing of Tsukuyomi and me.

I stood lower on the page with the Evoker to the left side of my head. A smirk on my face with shards coming out of the right side of my head. Tsukuyomi on the upper side of the page being formed by the shards and ready to charge out of the page.

"Pretty good."

"Arigatou."

Crash!

 **Thou art I. I art thou. You have established the Aeon Arcana. May its understanding help you find yourself.**

Yeah you got that wrong, voice in my head.

She wasn't 'Aeon'. Far from it.

Her persona…was nothing but 'Death.'

With that she left soundly.

"I know it may be much to ask. But could you stay? She'll want a friendly face when she wakes up."

She didn't need to tell me that twice.

Or once for that matter.

Mioda was a friend.

That's what friends do.

Right?

I nodded and she smiled brightly at me before leaving to talk to the headmaster as well.

I looked at Mioda as she slept.

I don't know what possessed me to do what I did, but my hand found its way to hers. She held on to it and her face relaxed and was set into a slight smile.

This was Mioda Sayaka. My first friend.

* * *

"That could have been catastrophic! You should have never let her fight!" the headmaster spoke with authority.

"I know. But we didn't have any incidents since she awoke it!"

"Because we carefully managed to avoid making her use it! We did that! We made sure she keeps it in check. And what do you do? You make her fight." The headmaster sighed "Who did she fight against anyway?"

"Kirijo Aoi-"

"You put the life of this school's prime funder in that amount of danger?! How stupid are you?"

"And Kazuma Naoki. Both second years."

"Kazuma…Naoki. He's that boy. The one without a persona. What was he doing there?"

"I figured give everyone a free shot. And he does have a persona. Pretty strong one too."

"His profile says otherwise."

A knock was heard.

"Come in." the headmaster spoke before the doors opened.

"Headmaster." Mikan Ayasara bowed slightly as she entered.

"Ayasara-san." He nodded "I take it your report is ready?"

"Yes it is. He awakened it so I guess we are ahead of schedule." She handed him a paper file.

"Which gives us enough time to get ready for our next move."

He opened it and narrowed his eyes a bit.

"I'm confused. What the hell is going on here?"

"This-" The headmaster spoke as he leaned back on his chair "Is why we are here for." He threw the file towards him and spoke again "Not a word to Kirijo-san. You understand?"

That dangerous glint scared him.

It was on par with that persona that the drawing girl summoned.

He gulped and nodded.

On the page that the file opened at it was a photo Kazuma.

Next to it?

A single sentence.

'Project Moon'

He gulped again before closing it.

The less he knew the better.

"Smart man." The headmaster spoke before turning to look out the window "I trust you can find the exit."

He didn't need to be told that twice. He was out the door the next second.

"So. What did you do about the Atisuto girl?"

"I gave her a suppressant but she's starting to figure it out."

"Hmm. Let's just watch and see how this turns out. If anything drastic happens we can intervene."

"Understood. What about Naoki-c…Kazuma-san."

"If I didn't know any better I'd think you were starting to care for him."

"Of course I don't! He's just a patient. I was just caught up in the act."

"Make sure the act doesn't turn into the truth."

She nodded and left with that.

The headmaster looked at a framed photo on his desk. He grabbed and his face softened "We're almost there." He muttered before putting it down.

* * *

"Twinkle, twinkle little star~"

"Oh God no!" He backed up and reached the wall.

"How I wonder what you are~"

"Stay back!"

"Up above the world so high~"

"I'm warning you! I'm gonna summon my persona!" he prepared the card. The Magician arcana.

"Like a diamond in the sky~"

"P-P-Persona!" There it was. His persona. An old war hero. He couldn't remember. He just wanted to be safe.

It yelled and attacked. Destroying a part of the alleyway he was in.

The dust cleared soon after and his attacker was nowhere to be seen.

He laughed.

A laugh of a man who just faced death and lived!

A crazed laugh.

He stopped and smiled.

He realized something.

The laughter didn't stop.

He slowly turned around.

"Twinkle, twinkle little star~"

He widened his eyes before blood sputtered on the walls.

His body fell down.

"Well shit. I thought it was the guy." She grunted as she looked at the head "Guess now that I look at it, it does kinda _not_ look like that guy. This guy was less handsome."

She threw the head away and shrugged "Well. Can't win 'em all!" she giggled before leaving the alleyway.

* * *

Morning came and with the first rays of sunshine I woke up. My hand was extended for some reason. I groaned slightly and got up. My hand was in another's.

I looked at the source and saw Mioda.

Oh yeah.

Did I hold her hand for the whole night?

I shrugged and looked around.

Ayasara-san was lightly snoring on the chair next to her desk and had a magazine on her face. Seemed to be the newest edition.

I blushed slightly at the title.

'Cougar 101.'

She was _that_ old?

I shook my head and took out my phone.

Thankfully I didn't need to pay for it.

It was given to all students here without enough money to buy themselves one and it acted as basically an attendance card.

I checked the news and almost dropped the phone.

The headline?

' _Corpse found in_ _Kabukichō district.'_


	4. Seekers

**Disclaimer: Persona series belong to their rightful owners. The only thing I own are the OCs.**

* * *

Kabukichō district.

Wasn't really a lovely place but it was still my home.

Or at least where my house was.

To hear that a corpse was found there was unsettling.

I was pretty sure of who the culprit was.

Yukimura Aya…

I frowned at that name.

Still.

If it wasn't for her I probably never would've awakened Tsukuyomi.

I was grateful for that.

I looked at the Evoker in my hand. It was black with red wavy lines. Custom-made obviously.

This was my responsibility.

I needed to catch her.

I had to bring her to justice.

I sighed.

* * *

" _Tell us what you saw again?"_

" _Yukimura Aya was chasing us. Mioda-san managed to knock her Evoker away and I summoned mine with hers. After that I managed to overpower her persona and she left."_

" _You took down a highly dangerous criminal?"_

" _Yes."_

 _They were amused._

 _The police were questioning me after they were done with Mioda-san._

 _This was the third time I told them this._

" _I still don't believe this story." One of them muttered before sighing. He got up and looked at me "Are you telling us the truth, kid?"_

" _I am. Not my fault you don't believe it." I shrugged._

" _Go home kid. We'll take what you said in consideration." The other sighed before I left the room._

 _Mioda-san was waiting for me near the room._

" _How'd it go Kazuma-san?" she asked as she got up._

" _They didn't believe me." I shrugged._

" _At this rate they'll never catch her again." She looked down._

 _I shrugged once more "It's not our job."_

" _I guess…I guess you're right. And besides I don't want to feel like that ever again."_

" _That makes two of us." I nodded and walked away._

* * *

"Are you alright?" a voice knocked me out of my thoughts. I shook my head to clear away the thoughts and holstered my Evoker.

"Yeah." I responded "How long is she going to stay like this?"

"She should wake up any second now." Ayasara-san stretched a bit before stashing the magazine away "Did you eat anything?"

"Ye-" my stomach growled "No. Haven't eaten anything since the fight." I could feel the heat on my cheeks.

"Well, have no worries!" Ayasara-san opened a cabinet before taking out two cups filled with Dango.

"Mitarashi?"

"You betcha. I know it's your favorite." I smirked before the two of us started eating "Did you get in trouble?"

"Huh?"

"With the headmaster."

"Oh. Not really. He's a bit mad that it happened but no one's in trouble for it."

I nodded before picking up another stick. This was my third one.

The door opened and in stepped Shinohara.

"Yo." He waved as he entered.

The hell was he doing here?

"Spare me the glare Dobe." He smirked "I'm here for my headache." He looked at Ayasara-san.

She nodded, put down the food and looked around for his medicine.

"What happened to her anyway?"

"You weren't there?"

"Of course I wasn't. Why should I stay around when there's nothing to gain?" he asked.

Lucky coward…

"There's been an accident. A student summoned her persona and couldn't control it."

"Ah. It was that weird girl with her drawings wasn't it?"

"How do _you_ know that?" I asked angrily.

"Man you really are a Dobe." He laughed while holding his sides "It was obvious there was something wrong with her. Not using her persona at all? For three whole years?"

"…"

"Wow. Everyone thought everything was alright?"

"Here you go Shinohara-san." Ayasara-san smiled and handed him a pill. He laughed and waved his hand dismissively.

"Don't need it. I guess a good laugh is the best medicine." He chuckled and went to leave the room "Oi Dobe."

"…" I glanced at him.

"That fight? That was all Kirijo. I hope you get that."

"…" My glance turned into a glare.

He smirked before leaving.

"Well. He was probably spoiled." Ayasara-san spoke up and swallowed the pill "After a kid like him, I needed that." She smiled.

"Yeah…" I said before getting up and throwing the now empty cup of Dango away.

The door opened once more and in walked Kirijo-san.

"Kazuma-san. Ayasara-san." She nodded at each of us.

"Kirijo-san." We both said.

"I'd like a word Kazuma-san." She glanced at Ayasara-san "In private."

I sighed and the two of us went outside. She awkwardly hit the door with her right leg.

I ignored that and asked "What is it Kirijo-san?"

"Why weren't you affected by that…thing's bloodlust?"

I don't know.

Why?

Yukimura's was one thing.

But Izanami's?

Whole other level.

"I went through something similar, when I awakened Tsukuyomi."

"I see. Was it with Yukimura Aya?"

I widened my eyes.

How did she-?

"Rumors travel fast. And you can't hide much from a Student Council President, Kirijo or not." She smirked.

"I figured that much." I frowned.

"Which brings up my next point." She said "How exactly did you become so proficient in using your persona in such a short amount of time?"

"I trained."

"And never summoned it?"

"Him. Tsukuyomi is a him."

"I see." She nodded "When do you suppose she'll wake up?"

"Why do you care?"

"I've been meaning to ask her and you something."

"And that is…"

"Meet me at the refurbished dorm in town."

I raised my eyebrow.

"I have a proposition for you two."

"Maybe. If Mioda wants to."

"Then you can ask her when she wakes up. Do not tell anything about the dorm to anyone." I nodded before she hit the door with her foot again "Don't keep me waiting." And after that she walked away.

I nodded and opened the door.

I blinked.

Ayasara-san fell down with a thud.

She sprung up and waved her hands in front of her face "I wasn't spying on you. I tripped!"

"…" I raised my eyebrows in amusement "We both know that's a lie."

"Aww Naoki-chan. What were you talking about?"

"Huh?"

"With Kirijo-chan!"

"She said something about the student council. Said there was a free spot and if I wanted to join."

"A love confession?!" How she reached that conclusion is beyond me.

"Highly unlikely." I scoffed.

Her stomach growled "Ohh. I'm still hungry. Be back in a jiffy!"

"What's gotten her in such a good mood?" A voice spoke up. I turned to the bed. Mioda was up and leaning on wall behind her.

"Don't know. You alright?" I asked as I sat down.

"I'm screwed up." She looked down. Her hair covered her face "That thing was on to me. It almost killed me. That's twice I owe you, Kazama-kun." She smiled my way.

Crash!

 _ **Thou art I. I art thou. You have strengthened the Sun Arcana. May its**_ _ **radiant shine pave your way.**_

"You don't owe me anything." I scoffed.

"I do. You saved me twice."

I sighed "So?" I looked her in the eyes "That's what friends do, right?"

"Friends?" she asked as if the word was foreign to her. She smiled happily "I haven't had a friend for a long time."

"Eh? But you're objectively the most popular girl."

"Yeah and a lot of guys crush on me because of that. And a lot of girls are jealous for those same reasons."

"I see."

Thank God I wasn't popular.

I quickly adopted a serious look.

"Hey Mioda…Listen."

"Yes Kazuma-kun?"

"Kirijo-san was here a few minutes ago."

"So?" she narrowed her eyes at that.

"She offered a proposition."

"And that is?"

"Want to meet up with her?"

* * *

Whispers.

That's all she heard.

Voices in the wind.

Everything she would do.

Her persona would whisper to her.

Sweet nothings.

Threats.

Warnings.

It didn't matter.

Her persona would just whisper.

Normally she would just ignore it.

But now she chose to listen.

And she regretted it.

She sighed as she looked at the 'Closed' sign.

She ran out of paper to draw on and the store was closed.

The other one was on the other side of town.

She looked at her phone's clock.

School should start soon.

She sighed again and decided to just go without drawing today.

It's not like it would stop her persona from whispering for her to kill the Child of the Moon.

She briefly looked at the date on her phone.

April 10th Wednesday

Two weeks until Golden Week and a few weeks until exams started.

Oh what a time to be alive!

She pocketed her phone before she started walking to the academy.

She briefly thought about Kazuma Naoki-san.

Why was she scared of him during the fight?

And why was she scared enough to summon Izanami?

For God's sake.

She was taking suppressants because she didn't want to summon her!

She sighed again before shaking her head.

Whatever it was she was going to find out.

She didn't notice, but the whispers became somewhat bearable.

* * *

"This should be it." I said as we approached the building. It was in fair shape without much external damage. She did say it was refurbished so I guess they did a decent job.

"Yeah." Mioda said as she dragged her baggage. She insisted on her carrying it rather than letting me help her. She panted and fell down.

Rich girl.

Remember?

"I hope…I hope they have hot water…" she wheezed out.

"I'm sure they have what you need." I smirked before opening the door.

Every fiber of my being screeched at me to dodge.

And I did.

Thankfully the giant Zweihander didn't cut me in two and only managed to nick some of my hair.

"Impressive." A monotone voice spoke "You have managed to dodge my attack." The dust cloud was cleared and from it a guy around my age stood with the Zweihander on his shoulders. His face was set into an emotionless expression.

Wait a second…

He wasn't breathing.

Or blinking.

In fact, his body was shining. He was metallic!

"I am Unit: 41. Codename Kurogane. Pleasure to meet you Kazuma comma Naoki." He prepared his Zweihander "Commencing second attack."

Shit!

I grunted and rolled out of the way.

Great.

An Anti Shadow Suppression Weapon.

I thought these things were supposed to be extinct like Shadows for that matter.

I took out my sword and blocked the downward strike from him.

And regretted it immediately as the force behind that attack forced me to the ground.

"It would seem you have managed to block my attack once more. I will need to re-evaluate my combat protocols after this."

"Evaluate this!" I grunted and did the one thing you do while in a struggle with a guy.

I kicked him in the nuts.

Or gems.

Or precious jewels.

Whatever you like to call them.

These things needed to be as human as possible. Maybe he does have them.

The force behind the sword dropped slightly but it was all I needed. I pushed it up slightly before jumping backwards.

"I do not understand that attack. But it would seem you have managed to escape." Was he holding his legs slightly bent?

And was he talking with a slight pant?

If not for his monotone voice I would say he was actually hurting.

I lifted my sword in preparation…and my hands fell flat.

That attack was exhausting.

Add in the fact that I didn't sleep too well and you got a fucked up situation.

"Dia!" Mioda summoned her persona before a small ray of light started covering my injuries. I smiled as the sensation of renewal hit me.

"Thanks for the assist."

"Anytime Kazuma-kun." She smiled.

"No other solution to this. Initiating Orgia Mode." His metallic body started emitting small vibrations and was also buzzing "Let us end this comma Kazuma comma Naoki."

"Couldn't have said it better myself!"

"Tarukaja!" a red light enveloped me suddenly. I looked at Mioda who simply smiled and nodded. My strength was higher now.

I smirked and put the Evoker to my head before getting ready to pull the trigger.

"STAND DOWN!" a familiar voice ordered before the weapon stopped its buzzing sound and moving altogether.

"Kirijo-sama." The weapon bowed low.

I turned around and there she was. Kirijo looked ready to blow a gasket.

She inhaled deeply before exhaling "What is the meaning of this?"

"Kazuma comma Naoki was trespassing."

"He can't trespass because I called him here."

"I see…Processing this new information." He got up before turning to me "Kazuma comma Naoki. I apologize." He bowed deeply.

"…No worries." I said awkwardly.

He turned towards Mioda "Mioda comma Sayaka. I apologize." He said in the same tone.

She looked at him awkwardly before saying "It's okay."

"Now that this is settled-" He smiled.

A mechanical smile.

A fake one.

"Would anyone care for some cookies?"

Cookies?

"Since you are already inside I'm guessing you already know his name and what he is." We nodded "Well then for the sake of introductions." She gestured towards the metal boy "This is Unit:41 or more commonly known as Kurogane. He's an Anti Shadow Suppression Unit. The last in fact."

"Weren't they all decommissioned?" Mioda asked.

"That's what the public was told. We have a few all over the globe. Kurogane was the last one made."

"Chocolate or Vanilla?"

"As you can see he has a tendency to bake cookies and other deserts."

"Can't you just reprogram him?" I asked.

"To reprogram him I would need to erase his whole being. It's as if I would brainwash a human."

"He's not human though." I shrugged before I made my way towards the cooking robot. I knocked on his biceps only to hear the sound of knuckles on metal.

Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.

"See?"

"Kazuma comma Naoki. Please do not knock on my body. It may disrupt my inner workings."

I went back to the place I sat.

"In any case. We are not here to discuss about him. You are here to hear my proposition and I'm here to shed some light on this."

I and Mioda both nodded.

"I'm under the impression that both of you fought and managed to defeat a certain Yukimura Aya."

At that name Mioda's breath hitched and her eyes dilated.

She frowned before Kirijo continued "I would like to propose we went after her."

"Why us? We're still students. Let the authorities-"

"Do nothing while she keeps killing. If they could have caught her, they would have done it already."

"The police's chance of capturing Yukimura comma Aya is…processing…30 point 037 percent." The robot spoke up as he was making the dough "The possibility of a group of people working outside the law's restrictions is 73 point 011 percent."

"If you do accept we shall have the dorm as our base of operation."

"Why do you even want to catch her so badly?" I asked. Why did she care?

"My reasons for wanting this are my own. We have a common goal. Yukimura's elimination. Join. Or don't. Matters not to me."

I narrowed my eyes.

She was lying.

"We're in."

Unsurprisingly it was Mioda who spoke up.

"Yeah." I glanced at the girl in question.

She was looking for blood.

"Good. If you didn't accept, I might have had to execute you two."

"Aww. You did care whether we joined or not after all." I said with a smirk on my face.

"I did not!" she blushed slightly "It would have just set me back a few weeks of finding the perfect members."

"Why us though?" Mioda asked "There were others with higher grades."

"We both know that grades mean nothing. In battle it's not grades that will help you. It's, simply put, skill. And you both have it."

"Was that a compliment Kirijo-san?" Mioda smirked.

"Don't let it get to your head."

"Oh I won't. I just have to write this down somewhere."

"I have a question." I felt like I was forgetting something. Good thing I remembered to ask about her "Why didn't you want Ayasara-san to hear about us meeting here?"

"Ah yes. The school nurse." she closed her eyes "I will tell you one thing Kazuma-san." She sighed before opening them. I tensed.

They were sharp.

Unlike anything I've seen on a human.

There was something behind those eyes.

It honestly scared me.

"Ayasara Mikan is not to be trusted. As is any faculty member from the academy."

"Why's that?" I asked with a small amount of hostility "She's never done anything."

"A snake waits until the opportune moment to strike. Do not take her kindness for innocence and naivety." She narrowed her eyes and the room got colder "It may prove to be…disastrous."

Now that I think about it…she did have a point.

There were times whenever I didn't feel well I'd go to Ayasara-san. After some medicine or a healing spell she'd ask me things that any normal nurse wouldn't.

She asked about a potential persona…

She was too eager.

And she would always write whatever I'd say in a file of hers.

"Do you understand?"

"Yeah…" I grunted "Fine. I get it. I'll trust her less."

"Excellent." She smiled and the cold vanished "Well then. Shall we go and choose our rooms? The first floor is the boys' and the second is ours." She nodded towards Mioda.

"Before that. Do we have a name for this ragtag group?" I asked out of pure curiosity.

Kirijo suddenly smiled.

It was so out of place that I did a double take along with Mioda.

"We shall name ourselves 'SEEKERS'" She spoke with her hand raised upwards and a sparkle in her eyes.

"Seekers?" I asked "Sounds good. What does it stand for?"

"Super Elementalists Eliminating Killers Everyday Rivetingly Seriously!"

Absolute silence.

"Wow."

"I know. It's a great name." she was stroking her own ego?

"You suck at naming things!"

"Excuse me?!"

She yelled and I sighed as the two started arguing.

Even through all the yelling I could still feel something forming between all of us.

A sliver of a bond.

Crash!

 _ **Thou art I. I art thou. You have forged the Fool arcana. May it limitless potential give you strength.**_

…

DING!

"Cookies are done." The robot informed us suddenly and I chuckled.

"I'll go get some fresh air." I said before going out.

As soon as I walked outside the doors I looked to the left. A blue door was there.

Was it there when we got in?

The small blue key in my back pocket started weighting slightly before.

I took it out and inspected it. It was a simple blue key with a small grey chain attached to it.

I put the key in and twisted the door open.

A white light blinded me before I found myself sitting down in a chair.

I looked around as a soft violin melody started playing.

The Velvet Room.

"Welcome, to the Velvet Room." Igor spoke "It brings me joy that such an interesting guest has returned here and so soon."

"I've been meaning to get back here." I shrugged "Could you explain now? About the Wild Card?"

"Gladly." He smiled "Your power, the power of the Wild Card is like the number zero. Empty. Hollow. But at the same time holds infinite possibilities."

"Your Wild Card ability is unique in that you cannot access as many personas as other guest have. Instead your own persona gains more power based on the bonds you make and strengthen." Eliza continued with an ever present knowing smile on her face.

"That's what those voices were." I muttered under my breath.

If possible, Igor's smile got bigger.

"My role has changed it would seem. I no longer help you discover new personas. Instead I will aid you in granting Tsukuyomi new power." He chuckled "A fitting persona for you."

The hell did he mean by that?

The scenery was starting to flicker and fade.

"It seems our time here is being cut short. I'm sure we will have time later to discuss these things. Farewell for now, young guest."

I nodded before I blinked and found myself back at the dorm looking at the front door.

I blinked and looked to the right. There it was.

The door to the Velvet Room.

I smirked. Guess all of this really _isn't_ a hopeful dream.

I stretched before entering the dorm with a small smile.

* * *

Night came and with it her job started. She stared at the academy with a knowing smirk before she ran and jumped from the building. The guards there didn't see anything as she landed with a soft thud.

She dusted herself before taking out her phone.

A 3D map soon appeared after a few taps on the screen. She looked around before ducking behind a tree. A lonesome guard passed by her before she got up and silently ran towards the small park on the academy grounds.

It was nothing major. Just a few plants here and there along with some benches for students to relax on.

In the middle, however, was a large fountain depicting a young persona user summoning what many believed to be Izanagi. She scoffed before looking around the fountain. She smirked as she found a small brick that she easily tore away.

A small button was inside where the brick once was. She pressed it and the water stopped floating from the fountain. It shook before it slid to the right, revealing a set of stairs.

She stretched before descending.

The lights were automated as they were on as soon as she set foot. Still, she was on guard for this.

Surprisingly the long corridor she was in didn't have any traps or guards. Most likely the guy in charge was just sure no one would try and steal what was in here.

An idiot.

That's for sure.

She came up to a metal door. She touched it and frowned.

Reinforced steel.

It would be hard to break through that.

Thankfully she borrowed a hand from a victi- generous man from a couple of nights ago. Taking the appendage out of her bag she pressed it down on the hand scanner on her right.

"Identity confirmed. You may proceed." The mechanical voice spoke from the scanner.

"Why thank you." She couldn't help but say as she threw away the decaying appendage. She entered the small room and gazed upon the treasure there.

A small black vial that seemed to move.

"Hello there ugly." She smirked as she watched the black ooze "You are gonna make a lot of people happy."

She grabbed the vial and put it in her pack before making her way out.

She was never seen that night.

* * *

She panted as she walked back to her home.

The whispers returned and school was closed.

Hospital was too far away.

Her head felt like it would split open.

To make matters worse, she still didn't get a new drawing book.

She still had to listen to those damned whispers.

She tightened her fists as she entered her home and locked the door.

"Go away. Go away. Go away." She muttered continuously, sliding down on the ground with her back leaning on the door.

" _Don't come near her!"_ She gripped her head.

" _Stay away!"_ Why couldn't she be left alone?!

" _Leave us alone!"_ She was trying!

" _ **GO AWAY!"**_

" _Pretty good."_

The whispers stopped.

Serene, beautiful silence.

She didn't have many friends…actually the one that actually talked to her for more than one word was Kazuma-san and she couldn't really call him her friend. They knew each other but they weren't friends.

He did compliment her drawing though.

No one's ever done that before.

Yeah…

She smiled slightly before drifting off to sleep.

Maybe…

Just maybe…

She could have someone she could call a friend…


	5. Reflections

**Disclaimer: Persona series belong to their rightful owners. The only thing I own are the OCs.**

* * *

I woke up soundly in the comfy bed as the alarm rang. I groggily stopped it before I yawned as I looked around. The surrounding walls were different. They were a pale yellow compared to the sickly white that I was accustomed to. Another different thing was the flat TV and the laptop on the desk there.

Gifts from Kirijo.

The last thing was the drawing that Atisuto-san made. It was on the wall near the desk.

I stretched before going to the bathroom.

I stopped before I opened the door.

I was in my boxers.

There were two girls living with me in the dorm.

I smirked and put on some pants before grabbing some soap and exiting the room.

I chose the room at the end of the hall as mine so I had a bit of distance to walk to the bathroom which was at the very beginning of the hallway. Right by the stairs.

I entered, undressed and got in the shower quickly. I smiled as the hot water hit my body. I didn't take a shower ever since the Yukimura incident so it felt refreshing, feeling the water on my body. Especially since it was hot water. Didn't have this back at the apartment.

The door to the shower suddenly opened and I came face to face with the robot.

I blinked.

It got closer.

I backed up.

"Do not be alarmed. I am simply evaluating your physique and behavior."

"And can't you do that whenever I'm not showering?"

"Previous calculations indicated that it is best to observe someone at all times if you want to see everything that is required. I calculated that observing you at all times during day cycle shall increase my chances of defeating you without Orgia Mode by…105 percent."

I blinked again.

Its eyes glowed a bit before looking me over completely.

That felt so weird.

"Scan complete. Height 175. Weight approximately 81 kg. Muscle mass percent…60. Body fat percent…40. Body hair is average for nineteen years old male." Its gaze drifted downwards "Male genitalia…"

I kicked him away before it could say something about it.

It slid on the ground before he straightened up and walked back to the original position.

"Are you annoyed?" he asked as he tilted his head to the side.

"Gee you think?" I sarcastically asked "Now do you mind going away so I can have a peaceful shower?"

"But if I do that I will not be able to study you."

"Let me put this as clear as I can." I opened the door and looked at him "Fuck. Off." I calmly spoke.

He stopped to process what I just said.

…

…

Since when did I start referring to it as he?

"But I do not have the necessary feelings nor equipment needed to 'Fuck'. Nor do I need to turn off."

Was this guy…robot for real?

"Fuck off means leaving me alone." I explained with a straight face "Now kindly fuck off."

"I see. Storing this phrase into my 'Young Man' directory." He turned around and walked away.

"Freaking robots…" I muttered though I couldn't help but smile after. That was actually somewhat fun.

That was until I heard a mutter.

"Male genitalia…painfully average."

"FUCK OFF!" I roared.

* * *

Time for breakfast.

It wasn't anything special.

It was simple.

Two eggs with a few slices of bacon.

How do they say it?

'God Bless America.'

Yeah.

"So what was all that yelling about?" Mioda asked suddenly.

"Nothi-"

"I was observing Kazuma comma Naoki-san. It would seem that I have upset him when I talked about his male geni-"

"URUSAI!" I yelled and jumped on him from across the table. The two of us were on the ground with me on top of him.

"I'm sorry Kazuma comma Naoki-san. I am not equipped for what you intend…But I will try my best."

I stopped for a second.

What the fu-

"Alright. I believe that is enough Kazuma-san, Kurogane." Kirijo spoke as she finished her food. Hers was more refined. I didn't bother to remember what it was.

I begrudgingly got off of him and dusted myself "Kirijo. Anything new about Yukimura?"

"Oh yes. Today we shall investigate the victim's home and the crime scene."

"I'm guessing we'll do this at night?" Mioda asked.

"Of course. Going at night decreases the chances of being caught by…55 percent."

"Then after classes are done we meet up where?"

"Here." She answered me simply.

The two of us nodded before going to the academy.

* * *

She was the first to be in class.

As always.

She sat in the back, near the windows. That way, people would interact with her less.

It was better this way.

Thankfully her head was clear.

And she bought a new drawing book.

That helped.

The doors opened and in walked some students.

No names in her opinion.

Didn't do anything remarkable.

They were just there.

There to fill the seats or halls.

As usual, they sat furthest from her.

That was fine.

Except for one thing.

They could at least hide their distaste of her by not glaring.

She sighed before getting up and leaving the room.

She needed to clear her head.

She'd be back before class started.

As soon as she opened the door she saw him.

Kazuma Naoki.

He walked with Kirijo-san and Mioda-san by his sides. Mioda-san was on his left while Kirijo-san took the right.

Kirijo-san stopped and entered the classroom after she nodded towards her and her friends.

Mioda-san and Kazuma kept walking to their classroom.

She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.

He stopped suddenly and turned towards her. He looked at her.

She knew what he was thinking.

"Something wrong Atisuto-san?" he asked.

She blinked.

Now that she didn't expect.

At her name Mioda-san tensed and turned around.

"We'll meet in class Mioda." He said while he looked at her.

She nodded and left. She walked slightly faster than usual.

"Well then? Anything wrong?" he raised an eyebrow.

She was mute.

C'mon! Say something already!

"A-Ano…" she muttered and stuttered.

Since when did she stutter?!

"Yes…?" he urged her on.

"W-Would you like another drawing?"

"Huh?" he said.

"Another drawing." She said again.

"Sure. The first one was good." He shrugged.

She nodded before she walked back into her classroom.

She sat down before noticing something.

Kirijo-san was sitting next to her.

She smiled slightly. That would divert everyone's attention from her.

That and she talked to Kazuma…even a little bit.

* * *

I watched as she went back into her classroom.

That was awkward.

Guess she thought of me as some sort of friend.

I shrugged. Let her think what she wants.

Not my place to tell people what to think.

Still.

I guess she didn't want to scare everyone.

We all make mistakes.

It's how we deal with the consequences that matters.

With that thought I turned around and went to my classroom.

* * *

I entered and all conversation stopped.

All eyes were on me.

I was tense.

The hell was wrong with these people?

"Kazuma-san!" they all yelled and flocked around me.

Like moths to a flame.

"That was so cool how you stood up to that drawing girl!"

"Yeah! You're so strong!"

"Since when do you have a persona?"

"It was so badass!"

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

School everybody.

Never changes.

Do a 'cool' thing once and everyone thinks you're the next coming of Izanagi or something.

I sighed and showed my annoyance. Thankfully they got the message and backed away.

As I passed by them I couldn't help but overhear them saying "So cool…"

Fuck me…

"Someone's popular." Mioda spoke as I sat next to her.

"It's getting on my nerves already." I muttered.

"Really? I thought you would enjoy it. Especially with your girlfriend." She deadpanned.

Where did that come from?

If I didn't know any better I'd say she was jealous.

"What girlfriend?"

"That creepy girl."

"Atisuto-san?"

"HA! You know her name!" she pointed her finger at me.

"So? She just asked me if I wanted another drawing." I shrugged. What was the big deal anyway?

"Really? That's all she asked you?" She asked with suspicion.

"Yes."

"Oh. Okay then." She smiled before turning to look away from me.

I blinked.

The fuck was that?!

I shook my head before turning to the now present teacher.

Math.

I hated this subject.

I sighed as she started her class and briefly looked at the clock on the wall.

08:02 AM

Class ended at 09:30 AM.

This was gonna be a long day.

* * *

"Here it is. One vial of shadowy goodness." She smirked as she entered the room.

"Finally. Did anyone see you?" one of the five people there spoke. He was standing to the left of the gathering there.

"Who do you think you're talking to Teme?" she grunted.

"A little cunt who got her ass handed to her by a young punk." A woman snickered.

"Fuck you!" she growled and took out her new evoker.

"In your dreams." She smirked as she summoned her persona card. It was the Hunger arcana.

Yukimura growled.

"Enough bickering. Give me the vial." The one in the middle said. She begrudgingly took the vial out of her bag and handed it over.

"Why do you need me to steal it anyway?" She asked out of curiosity.

"You're getting paid to follow orders, not to ask questions." He sharply said before throwing her a large batch of money.

"Sir, yes sir." She mocked before turning around to leave.

"Yukimura." She stopped.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"You never saw us."

"Aye, aye captain." She snickered before turning to look at the previous woman "Oh and bitch? You're lucky these people are here. My persona doesn't like it when people call me names." She smirked and left the room.

"Why that little fuckin-"

"Enough. We have what we need." The man looked into the endless black contained in the vial "Now we just need to study and test it…" He muttered before turning to look into a mirror. He smirked as he saw the map in the reflection.

"Studying it should take about a month. Maybe two at worst. After that we can safely test it."

"Good. Get to it then." He spoke before throwing a knife into the map.

The place it hit?

Kabukichō district.

* * *

14:30

School's done for today.

Praise be unto the moon!

I got up and stretched before looking at Mioda.

She knew what was coming next.

The two of us nodded before starting to go back to the dorm.

"Ano. Kazuma-san…"

Lo and behold.

Our resident freaky powerhouse.

That girl that just by summoning her persona manages to scare the living hell out of me.

Atisuto Hana was in the hallway with a sheet of paper in hands.

"Here." She said before handing me the sheet of paper. As always it was extremely detailed.

I was on the left side of the drawing. I stood in front of a petite girl with short hair and a kimono that had tears streaming down her cheeks. I had a shining katana pointed at something out of the frame. Above and below me while also being towards the girl a dark…something was all around us.

This was…This was something else.

The sword and I had to have some meaning.

A light in the darkness.

And the girl in the drawing resembled her an awful lot.

Maybe I was just overthinking things.

I shook my head before nodding at her.

"It's good. Does it mean anything?"

That question made her think.

"I…I guess." She responded with a stare.

"O…kay." I muttered "Thanks for the drawing Atisut-"

"Hana."

"Huh?"

"Call me Hana…" she looked as if she was choosing her words very carefully. As if I'd hate her if she said something wrong.

There are three things you can do to make me hate you.

Number one is being a grade A asshole.

Number two is intentionally hurting people close to me.

And number three is betraying me.

Those three are the things I couldn't stand in someone.

"It's what friends do…" she said in the end.

Friends huh?

So she did consider me one.

"Alright Hana." I smirked "You can call me Naoki."

She nodded "Naoki-san…" she tried the name out before nodding once again.

I turned around "Well. See you around, Hana." I waved goodbye and left.

"Good bye…Naoki-san." She whispered but I heard it.

Crash!

 **Thou art I. I art thou. You have strengthened the Aeon arcana. May its understanding help you find yourself.**

Maybe she wasn't that bad…

* * *

"There you are." I said as I saw Mioda waiting outside the dorm "Why didn't you wait for me?"

"I was thinking you were going to spend more time with your girlfriend." She scowled slightly "I don't want be a third wheel."

There she goes again.

Girlfriend.

"She's not my girlfriend. She's…She's a friend." I said simply.

"Why are you friends with her after what she did?" she frowned.

"Because she's sorry for what she did. She didn't mean for that to happen." I shrugged "What's got you so worked up over it anyway?" I asked with narrowed eyes.

"Nothing…It's just she rubs me the wrong way."

"Try and be open-minded about things." I went up the five stairs there "If I wouldn't have been I might've not opened the door on that night."

I could feel her eyes widen at that.

It was the truth.

Cold.

Harsh.

But it was the truth nonetheless.

If I wouldn't have met _him_ when I was ten years old I might have hated the world enough to not open the door.

Who's _him_?

The man who showed me what real strength was.

Who's that man?

Narukami Yu.

Yep.

The third Wild Card to be ever documented.

You could say he was my predecessor.

In any case I shouldn't think about the past.

Not when I can't remember anything before I was 7 years old.

I shook my head.

We didn't say anything as we entered the dorm and waited in silence for Kirijo to show up. Kurogane tried to talk to us but other than short answers he got nothing.

* * *

I grimaced as the four of us snuck into the crime scene.

Dried blood was everywhere.

Imprints of the body were there too.

Mioda couldn't hold it in and went around the corner where she emptied the contents of her stomach. I shook my head and pressed on with the investigation.

"Kurogane. Any information on the victim?" Kirijo requested.

"Victim was named Itou comma Makoto. Cause of death: Decapitation. Victim was sixteen years old. Blood Type: O Hei-"

"I didn't ask for a resume. I want anything interesting. Why would she go after this guy?" She frowned.

"Grudge maybe?" I said as I looked where the body used to lay. Some blood was there. I shook my head. Sent shivers down my spine just thinking about what this guy went through.

"It is possible." Kurogane spoke "Itou comma Makoto has a very large number of sexual affairs at his age. It is possible that Yukimura comma Aya used to be one of those affairs."

"But then why would she attack and kill Mioda-san's family?"

She did have a point.

"Yeah…And she does kill pretty much everyone that sees her. Like that other guy."

Kirijo sighed "Look around once more. We'll go to the previous one in a few minutes."

I nodded and looked around again.

"What type of persona user was he?"

"…Files indicate he was a Sensory type."

I nodded.

The flashlight in my hand hovered above the wall at the end of the alleyway.

I closed my eyes and tried to imagine the crime scene.

First, the guy ran from where she first started chasing him.

Then, thinking he could escape, he hid here in total darkness.

Finally when he didn't detect any sign of her he breathed out and made to run away.

She caught him and killed him on the spot after that.

The question is how?

I sighed as I opened my eyes.

"Kurogane do you have the autopsy report from the police?"

"That would imply I would hack into the database of the authorities."

"…Well do you?" I raised an eyebrow.

"You insult me Kazuma comma Naoki. Hacking into their system is child's play." He spoke almost proudly "What do you need to know?"

"Anything about how the head was cut up in there?"

"…Searching…Here: Head has been completely dismembered from the body. Further analysis shows that that the neck was first stabbed through the back comma the victim dying swiftly before the head was cut from the rest of the body. No other injuries. Was that satisfactory Kazuma comma Naoki?"

"Yeah…" I narrowed my eyes as the light from the flashlight reflected from something behind a crate. I made my way there and found a mirror the size of a small TV hidden behind a crate.

Why would a mirror be here of all places? And in perfect condition no less.

"Found anything Kazuma-san?"

"Maybe. Still need to figure things out."

She bought my answer and didn't press on.

Eventually we made our way to the previous crime scene.

It wasn't much of a difference.

"Victim was called Houjou comma Reisuke. Cause of death: Stabbing."

The only different thing was that the victim died a different way.

"Autopsy report: Victim virtually died from the first stab as it cut up the Aorta leading to internal bleeding. Further stabbing from the aggressor resulted in the heart being left up in complete taters. No way to analyze further."

"No sign of forced entry." I muttered as I looked at the door. I knew this since I'd use to close my door before Kondo would break it down.

I resisted grinning. The bastard deserved everything that happened to him…

"Weird…" Mioda muttered.

"What is it?"

"The name on the mail box is different. This isn't Houjou-san's room."

I checked the mail box.

"Yeah you're right." I said before asking out loud. Maybe Kirijo had some info.

"Kirijo. Do you know anyone named Kurusu Takaya?"

The name sparked something in her.

"He…He's the prime suspect for this crime."

She knew him.

It was written on her face.

"Aren't they already sure that Yukimura did this?"

"No. They couldn't find anything about this crime relating to her." Kurogane responded.

"I see…" I muttered before entering to look around once again. I stopped as my eyes landed on something.

My reflection.

"Mioda." I said "How exactly did Yukimura get to your house?"

She tensed and looked to the ground.

"She…She just appeared out of thin air. During dinner." She said shakily.

"Was there a mirror in the room?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" She frowned.

"I don't see the point either Kazuma-san." Kirijo butted in. She probably saw how hard it was for Mioda to remember.

Tough luck.

Some people honestly had it way worse than her.

Harsh.

But it was the truth.

"Just answer the question."

"Yeah. There was."

"Was it big? Small?"

"It was full bodied." She said.

I nodded before making my way to the mirror.

"What are you doing?"

I pressed my hand into it and smirked as it passed through. The mirror started emitting blue and white lights.

"Figures." I grinned as I pulled back "Yukimura was using the mirrors as some sort of network. There was a small mirror about half this size back in the alleyway."

"So you're saying that essentially no one is safe."

"Yes." I breathed in and pressed my hand again "Let's see what's inside." I smirked before I jumped in.

* * *

They watched as he jumped in without a second thought.

"That reckless idiot! What if it's dangerous there?" Mioda screamed.

Kirijo sheeted before Kurogane followed through the mirror.

She sighed and followed as well.

"You can't be serious." Mioda muttered before she begrudgingly entered the mirror as well.

"My, my. They figured out my mirror trick. It would be bad if someone…" a voice spoke before Yukimura appeared from the doorway. She picked up a small wooden chair "Smashed their way out!" she laughed before she threw the chair at the mirror. It cracked and fell into dozens of pieces "Have fun in there brats." She smirked.

Wow this was easy.

She started following them ever since the alleyway.

"Now. How about a nap?" she asked out loud before leaving.

* * *

I widened my eyes at the familiar landscape.

"What is this place?" Mioda asked.

"It's another world. Incredible." Kirijo marveled at it.

A smash was heard behind us before shards of…something fell down.

Kurogane picked up the shard "It is part of a mirror."

"We got no way out…" Mioda started panicking as we realized the mirror got cracked.

I was having none of that right now. I put my hand on her shoulder and glared slightly.

She stopped.

"If we got in from one mirror, we can exit from another." I said.

She nodded before I let her go and took another look around.

It was a carbon copy of the room in our world. Only here it was daylight…

No. It was a reverse copy of it.

We exited the room and sure enough the whole world was like this. It was daylight as where in our world it was night. Everything was reversed. The school was on the other side of town.

East was West.

North was South.

This was fucked up.

Without a word the four of us started looking around to no avail.

No sign of life.

No soul.

No one.

"What the hell is this?!" Mioda yelled "HELLO!" she yelled but no one answered.

"Would you keep it quiet?" Kirijo hissed "There might be something else other than just us around."

"Screw you princess." She grunted "You said we're going after Yukimura. Not some weird…Mirror World or something!"

"We are going after Yukimura. This is simply an investigation." She was calm.

She was smart.

She kept her cool.

"…I hate this." Mioda muttered.

"Quiet comma Mioda comma Sayaka." Kurogane spoke as we stopped suddenly.

We were being watched.

"Like I'd listen to some tin-can…"

"I am made out of polarized Titanium and Steel. I do not believe the term 'tin-can' is appropriate."

Wow.

He got her there.

I smirked at that.

That was before I remembered where we were.

My serious face returned before I took out my Evoker.

As soon as I touched it a few black blobs dropped in front of us.

"The hell?"

"Shadows." Kurogane spoke "Finally. My primary functions can be satisfied. Are you ready Kazuma comma Naoki?"

"Ready for what?"

"Ready to do battle with these shadows." He spoke before the shadows formed.

They were female in form and they were pole dancing while watching us. They were pure black with the roman number VI imprinted on their white masks. They had gleeful smiles while sporting razor sharp teeth.

…

We were in Kabukichō district after all.

"Of course!" I smirked and with a pull of the trigger I summoned my persona.

"Tarukaja!" Mioda yelled before Kurogane and I were enveloped in a red light "Go! Your attack power's been increased."

"Tsukuyomi! Garuda." I yelled before my persona followed up. A large tornado was summoned at the shadow's location before we dashed at them.

A black fire engulfed my blade as I slashed through the bodies. I looked up as Tsukuyomi tore through another. I nodded at him and he seemed to smirk before cutting through another.

I started grinning before stabbing another one through the head. It exploded in black smoke instantly. I laughed before running towards another. Kurogane seemed to also be enjoying this as he cut down more and more. I dodged to the left quickly.

I glanced at Kirijo and nodded.

She smirked, her persona behind her. She widened her eyes suddenly.

I grimaced and tried to roll out of the way.

I failed.

The shadow tore into my leg like it was the last meal of its life. I grunted in pain.

There was so much pain.

And cold.

I scowled before slashing the head of the shadow clean off. I panted as I got up.

At least Kurogane was doing bett-

Thud.

Never mind.

"Great. We can die together now Kurogane." I joked.

"Very funny Kazuma comma Naoki." He responded "It would seem our enemies are slightly stronger than I believed they would be."

"Yeah."

"Media!" a soft light engulfed us. I looked at my leg and saw that the bleeding stopped. It was healing.

Mioda cast a healing spell.

"Skip the dying words and get back to fighting!" she yelled.

We smirked and did just that.

* * *

"Well that's the end of that." I sighed as I leaned on a wall there "Our first taste of actual combat." I loved it. The thrill of battle.

Not knowing whether you'll get out of there alive.

It was…intoxicating.

And I loved it.

I looked at Kirijo and Mioda. If those two hadn't been here… I wouldn't be alive right now.

"Be more careful next time you two." Kirijo said suddenly.

"Why, I thought you didn't care Kirijo." I smirked.

"I do care you idiot!" she growled "Don't make me have you executed." She threatened.

"Yes ma'am." I grinned and got up "Oi. Kurogane. You alright?"

"I am not damaged."

"How does it feel to fulfill your programming?"

"It feels…Good." He said "I have this…feeling in my processor. It spins faster now."

"That's happiness." Mioda smiled at that "Glad someone's having fun." She giggled at the two of us.

"Thought you wouldn't like this."

"At first I didn't. But it was kinda fun to be in a real fight. And since I am more of a support type persona-user it was refreshing not to fight myself."

"Got it." I nodded before we turned to look for another mirror.

Big mistake.

Around two meters in front of us was someone.

In front of us was Mioda Sayaka.

We froze.

No. There was something different about her. She was taller and her hips and breasts were a bit larger.

And she had golden eyes.

"W-Who are you?" Mioda asked hesitantly.

" **I am you. I am everything you wish you could be…I am your shadow. The true self."**


	6. Shadow of the Sun

**Disclaimer: Persona series belong to their rightful owners. The only thing I own are the OCs.**

* * *

Weird thing.

Seeing a clone of someone you know, I mean.

Except…it wasn't a clone.

There were two Miodas. One was taller, curvier and downright sexier.

The other was the one I knew.

"Y-You can't be here!" she yelled and pointed at her shadow "I…I accepted you a long time ago."

The shadow smirked and walked slightly forward.

Her walk was slow.

Sensual.

It was like she was trying to seduce us.

Me.

She was trying to seduce me the way she was looking at me.

I'd be lying if I'd say that it wasn't working…

This…This was bad.

" **And yet. I am here…YOU are here."** The shadow continued to smirk as she approached us.

Me especially "Why? How!?"

" **What makes you think I ever left in the first place? Daddy and mommy's deaths simply made me resurface.** " She giggled " **It was all because of Kirijo's company. They came and asked daddy to do something for them. He refused and he died the next day. Coincidence? My ass.** " She snarled and walked towards me. Her hand on my left cheek, a soft smile on her face " **At least he showed up again and took some of the pain away.** " She let go and growled " **And then** _ **she**_ **comes into the picture putting the moves on MY man. Along with that stinking 3** **rd** **year harlot.** " She walked away " **Of course there would be doubts somewhere along the line don't you think? Don't I think better said?** " she looked down on Mioda.

The girl in question looked wanting for the earth to swallow her up. I narrowed my eyes.

"T-That's not true."

" **Oh but it so is.** " She smirked and circled around Mioda " **The very first night when he…protected me it…it sparked something In me. Right-** " she scratched over her left breast letting a faint trail of blood to flow down " **Here. But then he started talking to others. Well I'll show him! I'm the only girl he needs in his life.** " She snarled.

I glanced at Kurogane and Kirijo.

They nodded.

Glad to see we're on the same wavelength.

" **I hate it all! The attention that everyone else gives me! It's all meaningless if his eyes are not on me! What do I have to do? Strip? Get on my knees. Grab him?! I'll do anything as long as he looks at me. His gaze is the only one that matters…I SHOULD BE THE ONLY ONE WHO MATTERS TO HIM! ME!** " she snarled and kicked the ground, throwing a temper tantrum.

She couldn't be talking about me…could she?

"I…I'm not. I'm not like that!"

" **You so are. Don't forget darling, I'm you…and you're me. Well not really. I'm so much better. Smarter, faster and, if I do say so myself, better looking.** " She accentuated that with puffing her chest and sticking out her ass.

Okay that was weird.

She was talking as if she _knew_ that she and Mioda were different.

Weren't people's shadows supposed to act like they were the real ones?

"No…You…" Mioda growled as she trembled.

Whether out of fear or anger…I don't know.

In any case I couldn't…I wouldn't stop her saying those next words. She needed to get this off her chest.

"You are _not_ me! GOT THAT?!" she screamed before the shadow smirked as the real one collapsed.

" **Finally. Some power up!** " the shadow continued smirking as a black fog enveloped her.

I ran and grabbed Mioda before getting her back somewhere safe. She was unconscious. If the stories are true than she should wake up after we beat her shadow.

Speaking of which it started laughing like mad.

"Calculating odds of making it out of here alive…I'd rather not report my calculations."

"Aren't you the optimist?" I grunted as the fog swirled around us "Any plan Kirijo?"

"I was hoping you would have one. I didn't think we'd find normal shadows here much less someone's."

She had a point. I shook my head and prepared.

The fog burst out in massive sphere around us, blocking any escape and reducing the visibility there by a whole lot. A large figure stood on all fours, upside down. It was female with messy, long purple hair. On her head were four masks, each representing an emotion.

Sadness.

Jealousy.

Hate.

Lust.

She wore a very revealing black outfit with her bare clawed hands as weapons. The outfit was like the one you'd see on a stripper for crying out loud!

I resisted looking away.

I had to remember.

She was an enemy.

That meant no looking away. Keep my eyes on her.

It helped that her breasts were somewhat ug-not appealing. They were bruised and bleeding.

In fact much of her was bruised over.

I winced before she started talking in a ragged and growly voice.

" **I am a shadow. The true self.** " I could feel the smirk on her face even behind the Hate mask " **I'll make you look at me even if I have to kill everyone else.** " She sent me a look as the mask switched to Lust.

This was bad.

" _Her attention is on you Kazuma-san. Keep her busy while Kurogane and I take care of it._ "

" _Gotcha._ " I nodded before summoning Tsukuyomi "Let's go!" I yelled and charged forward along with him.

The shadow lowered its head before I slashed into it.

I widened my eyes.

She disappeared as soon as my flaming sword hit her.

She faded in the black fog around us.

" **Try harder dear. Wouldn't want your future wife to think your weak now, would you?** " she taunted as she appeared behind me. Good thing was she was ignoring Kurogane and Kirijo.

I scowled and tried again.

I just had to be faster.

Same result.

" **My turn.** " She sang before hitting the ground three times in succession. Each time stronger than the last " **Phlegethon!** " a wave of red and black fire burst out of the ground she smashed before coiling around her. She pointed at me before the fire followed and incredible speed.

"Tsukuyomi!" I yelled. I couldn't dodge in time.

He snapped his head at me and dashed in front of me. He took the front of the attack before falling down and growling. I followed. His pain was my own and vice versa. At least I wasn't about to die now.

" **Oh no! Dear's persona was hurt. How tragic!** " She sang once again before laughing cruelly.

" _Any time now Kirijo!_ "

" _Working on it. I'm putting up a marker in your vision. Can you see it?_ "

A large red circle appeared near me.

" _Yeah. I still don't know how you can do this._ "

" _I'll explain this later. Just focus on getting her there._ "

I nodded slightly and got to work.

I ran towards the shadow. It scoffed before it teleported right as I a swung my sword.

I smirked and turned around using the momentum of my swing to slash again with equal force. Tsukuyomi mimicked me and together we slashed one of her limbs off.

" **YAAAARGGGHHH!** " she screeched before she rolled on the ground like a wild animal " **WHY DARLING?!** " She snarled most likely as her mask switched to Hate before to Jealousy in quick succession " **The whore put you up to this didn't she?!** " she looked around for Kirijo.

The woman in question was using her persona to scan everything around and coordinate us. She snapped her eyes open just in time to see the oncoming giant shadow. It writhed towards her like a woman possessed.

"Kurogane!" I yelled before my metal comrade and I rushed to protect her.

"On it!" he responded and the two of us jumped in front of her. Kurogane ducked and hit her in the chin with a kick sending her flying backwards. He remained down and I used him as a springboard, jumping upwards and towards the downed shadow. I brandished my flaming sword before me and Tsukuyomi both stabbed at it.

Her mask switched to Sadness.

" _Mommy. Can I please go outside? All my friends are there!"_

" _Not now dear. Daddy and mommy need you here for a deal that daddy wants to make. You wouldn't want him to look bad would you?"_

" _Okay…"_

" _You can go next time. I promise."_

" _ **Liar…**_ _"_

I widened my eyes and altered my attack. It hit the ground as did my persona's sword.

What the hell was that?!

The shadow was surprised for a second before it grabbed me and threw me back. Kurogane caught me however.

"What was that?" Kirijo growled at me.

"I missed." I grunted.

"You missed on purpose." She glared.

"We do not have time for this. The shadow is regaining some strength." Kurogane informed us.

The shadow grabbed its arm and tried to reattach it.

"Oh no you don't!" I yelled "Garuda!" the tornado appeared and whisked the limb away. It looked at me with the Sadness mask before switching both the mask and her gaze towards Hate and Kirijo.

"Time to end this…Initiating Orgia Mode."

There he goes again.

Orgia Mode.

He started vibrating and making buzzing sounds…

Now that I think about it there was a dirty joke around here but I didn't have time to think of it.

He started emitting steam before his dark brown eyes started glowing almost turning red. His usually floppy black hair spiked up and he set into a stance before dashing at the shadow. It took the world a second to realize he wasn't there before wind almost knocked us back.

The shadow was quickly thrown into a building, crashing it.

"What the hell is that thing?"

"Orgia Mode." Kirijo answered me "It's a mode where Kurogane removes any limitations to his physical strength and abilities. However he loses most mental ones."

"Speaking of which. Why didn't he summon a persona?"

"He doesn't have one. In a sense he's somewhat like you. Who knows…maybe he'll acquire one later." She shook her head "Enough chit-chatting. We need to think of a way to defeat that shadow."

"…When I almost killed her, she…showed me something."

"Showed you what?"

"A piece of Mioda's memory."

"This never happened before. Shadows were never reported to show people visions…"

"That's what I was thinking."

A crash was heard again before Kurogane came flying out of the building and landing in the wall behind me "Wow. You sure ended it." I smirked.

Ah sarcasm where would I be without you?

"Battery power is at 10 percent. Basic functions…operational. Fighting protocol…de-activated."

"Oh come on!" I grunted.

" **You are not my darling! STAY OUT OF MY WAY!** " the shadow screeched before her gaze landed on me and Kirijo.

Great.

She let out another screech before powering up and being encased in red and black fire.

" **Pyriphlegethon**!" she roared and charged at us.

Time slowed down to a crawl.

" _The time has come for you to learn the true nature of your power."_ Eliza's voice was heard from…well from everywhere " _Look inside yourself and awaken your true power._ "

Well that helped a shit ton!

Look inside myself…

" _So. Are you alright?"_

" _I am now."_

I widened my eyes as time started passing at a slower than normal rate.

I smirked as I pointed the evoker to my head.

"PERSONA!" I yelled and pulled the trigger.

Above me Tsukuyomi started changing. Gone were the black and red clothes. In their place was a silver and golden cloak. The crescent moon on his head was now a fully rounded object emanating pure, serene light.

Instead of the katana he used to have, he had two sets of rosary beads. One set blue with small snowflakes coming off of the beads. The other was scarlet with steam coming off of it.

Strangely enough my sword wasn't coated in the usual black fire that Tsukuyomi granted.

I grunted as I almost fell. Thankfully I caught myself.

It hurt transforming him.

He was now of the Sun arcana.

"Do your thing!" I ordered and he followed. He looked up in the sky before putting up the red rosaries. Right as he put up his arm a pseudo sun rose up right inside the black fog. It was gone in a matter of seconds and we could finally see clearly.

As for the shadow, she stopped her attack before crashing down.

" **TURN OFF THE LIGHT! IT HURTS! TURN IT OFF DAMMIT!** " The shadow screeched as it rolled on the ground in pain. The light was burning her skin.

"Sic 'er." I grunted and he nodded "Bufula!" He waved his blue rosary in a pentagram formation before a large ice spike encased the shadow. I nodded and reverted Tsukuyomi back to his original form. I almost collapsed.

Was this how every Wild Card felt?

This much pain?

…My headache was starting to be annoying.

One good thing was that my sword was now reignited with the black flames.

I shook my head and nodded at Tsukuyomi.

He scoffed before the two of us set into a now familiar stance.

"Celestial…" I…couldn't do it.

My head was hurting too much.

I…I couldn't run towards her.

Somehow she was looking at me again. Sadness mask and all. Visions flooded my head.

" _Sorry. I'm not looking for someone right now." She said softly as to not hurt the boy who just confessed._

 _Tough luck as he ran away crying._

" _Wow. What a bitch."_

" _I know. The guy was cute and all."_

 _A group of girls whispered but she heard them._

 _She didn't mind them as she sat by the window._

" _Fucking Mioda… Almost as bad as Kirijo."_

 _She grimaced slightly at that._

 _Wasn't her fault her father was working with the Kirijo company._

" _Tell me about it. These two think they own the school."_

 _She looked down._

 _She hated this._

 _She was surrounded by people._

 _Men paid attention to her._

 _Women hated her._

 _But she was still alone._

 _No one understood her here._

 _Her home was the only place she could be herself._

 _She shook her head._

 _No._

 _Home was the worst. Especially when father and some business partner were there._

 _She had to act the part._

 _The whispers stopped suddenly._

 _Even she was curious so she looked up._

 _Oh._

 _The dead last showed up._

 _He looked mostly the same._

 _The same, tattered at end, double breasted high collar black coat._

 _She had to admit that was pretty stylish._

 _The same dark blue pants and the same black running shoes._

 _Come to think of it he always came to school wearing those. Ever since 2_ _nd_ _year started._

 _He wordlessly walked through the sea of students, ignoring everyone._

" _Damn. Surprised he showed up." The same group of girls whispered again._

" _Same here. Rumor has it that he doesn't even have a persona."_

" _What a loser!" They laughed cruelly._

 _She looked at him._

 _If he minded, he didn't show it._

 _He just balanced on his chair and waited for class to start._

 _He stopped suddenly and looked at her. He nodded before turning back to balancing on his chair._

 _She smiled._

 _Thanks to him coming right then and there they stopped._

 _She was thankful._

 _Too bad she didn't even know his name._

The vision stopped and I gasped.

She was like me…

All alone.

She was surrounded by people but they weren't _really_ there. They just wanted something.

After taking it they left.

She was alone and I couldn't see it…

"Are you alright Kazuma comma Naoki? It would seem you are low on battery power as well."

"My head hurts…Really bad I don't think I can make it to her." Hope he can't see through my lie.

"Well then I believe we need to combine our battery power." Kurogane said before he picked me up.

"T-The fuck are you doing?" I asked.

"I am giving you a boost in speed." He wound up "Prepare yourself, Kazuma comma Naoki."

"Go. I'll guide you through the air." Kirijo reassured me.

It didn't work.

"Alright. Just throw me. Be careful not to throw me too-" he did it anyway "HAAAAAAAARRRD!" I yelled before something readjusted me.

Kirijo no doubt.

I smirked through the headache before I drew my sword.

"Celestial Scar!" I yelled as I slashed through the ice and shadow, turning it into wet chunks. I landed and turned around ready to keep fighting but it was enough.

We won.

I smiled and leaned on the wall there. The shadow was back to its normal self and Mioda was waking up.

"H-Huh? Where am I?" she asked before getting up. She looked around before seeing me "Kazuma-kun!" she said before she ran right next to me. She tried summoning her persona but it wasn't working "Why can't I summon her?" she mused to herself.

I simply pointed at her shadow. She was strangely calm as Mioda looked her over "I…I get it okay?" she asked as she got up and went to her shadow "I want him to look at me. I want to matter to him. I want to be important to him." She sighed "Those are all things I thought…I still do. But I'm not gonna hurt people just to get him to notice me." She smiled "If he'll look at me it's because he'll want to, not because I made him to." She embraced her shadow tightly "Even if he and I don't work out or never make it there at least he'll be my friend. That's good enough for me…for us, isn't it?"

The shadow widened its eyes.

"Because in the end, you're me. And I'm you."

The shadow smiled before vanishing in a soft blue light.

Amaterasu appeared above and seemed to be grateful before she bowed towards me and disappeared.

Mioda smiled and started falling. I widened my eyes, got up and caught her in time.

"Kazuma-kun…I'm sorry." She said sadly.

"Nothing to worry about." I looked at my other two companions "Right?"

They simply nodded.

"That's what friends do." I said.

Crash!

 _ **Thou art I. I art thou. You have strengthened the Sun Arcana. May its**_ _ **radiant shine pave your way.**_

Before a large white door appeared in front of us.

I blinked.

No reason to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"If that doesn't look like a way out I don't know what it would look like." I said while helping Mioda stay up. Her arm was around my shoulders.

"Probability of it being a trap is…35 percent." Kurogane said as he circled around the door.

"That sounds acceptable. Let's go." Kirijo ordered and we went through the door.

* * *

She sighed as she entered her house. Another boring and crappy day at school.

It didn't help her headache that Naoki-san just ran off with Mioda-san and Kirijo-san.

She sighed again as she went to the bathroom.

The light from the living room was slightly annoying but she-

Wait…

She never ever turned on the light.

Which meant she was not alone.

She tensed and grabbed her draw book, ready to cast the necessary spells.

She looked around but no one was there. She relaxed slightly before making her way to the kitchen.

Slowly.

Carefully.

Her headache was annoying but she forced it to the back of her mind.

She grabbed a kitchen knife from the set and got ready.

Footsteps were heard from the hallway. She breathed in and leaned on the wall. She readied her knife and struck when she saw the figure.

The knife punctured the arm but the figure didn't scream.

"Atisuto comma Hana-san. I would appreciate if you wouldn't attack me further." The male figure spoke as a black substance seeped out of the puncture mark.

"Oi. Kurogane. What happened?"

"Atisuto comma Hana-san has arrived here Kazuma comma Naoki-san."

Naoki was here?

She smiled slightly before shaking her head.

Why was he in her house?

"Hana." Naoki spoke as he rounded the corner and nodded "Can you stop the bleeding Kurogane?"

"I shall repair myself as soon as we return to the dorm." He nodded before Kurogane left.

"Why?" Hana spoke as he left.

"Long story."

"Got time."

He sighed and nodded before telling her what happened.

Everything.

"So that's about it."

"…Mioda-san and Kirijo-san?"

"They-"

He was interrupted as the two entered the room while glaring at one another.

"Kazuma-kun! What is your favorite color? Black or blue?"

"Huh?"

"Mioda-san is trying to make this a big deal. Just humor her."

"…Blue." He shrugged.

Mioda-san looked down while Kirijo-san looked somewhat smug.

"Does this satisfy you Mioda-san?" Kirijo-san spoke.

"Yeah, yeah." She waved it off before she noticed her.

She backed up before hitting the wall behind her.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Why is _she_ here?"

"She lives here." Naoki deadpanned.

"Oh."

"Hello." Hana deadpanned.

Mioda-san simply stared at the two. They were way too similar…

"Join…" she continued.

"Join what?"

"Seekers."

"So wait you believe me?"

"Yes."

"How so?"

She simply stared before walking to the mirror. She pressed her hand into it and pushed through.

He stared and nodded.

"Can I?" she asked.

They all looked at Kirijo for an answer.

"…Sure."

 _ **Thou art I. I art thou. You have strengthened the Fool Arcana. May it limitless potential give you strength.**_

* * *

 **A/N: Alright! First time I write a somewhat lengthy 'A/N.'.**

 **So, first of all, foxchick1 thanks for being the first one to review, favorite and follow my story. It was a massive confidence boost!**

 **Now, ptl, thanks for the reviews. Those are some great ideas some of which I tried to make work but I couldn't. If you do start writing on that, let me know. I'd like to read something like that.**

 **And as for your question, Minato Arisato was the first Wild Card ever to be documented, Aigis is the second and Yu Narukami is the third.**

 **Hope that satisfied you and hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

 **P/S: A small not so hard to find Easter Egg in here about a certain game. Hope you readers get it. Oh and did you find the Easter Egg chapter 4?**


	7. Making bonds

**Disclaimer: Persona series belong to their rightful owners. The only thing I own are the OCs.**

* * *

Exams.

That's a word no one wants to hear.

Mostly because it just adds more stress to your life.

I sighed as I walked down the now familiar road.

I was alone for now.

Hana went sooner, seeing as third years had an extra exam today.

Mioda was already there.

She forgot to wake me up.

And Kurogane along with Kirijo decided to look into that mirror world.

Hopefully they found something.

I soon arrived at the academy and sighed once more.

At least five hours of hellish torture would begin.

I entered my classroom as everyone stressed out over these exams.

They all tried to squeeze in some more information either from their phones or their notebooks. Mioda was coldly looking into her notebook. A guy of average height was trying to talk to her but he was promptly ignored.

Wow.

Ice Queen much?

I smirked before approaching my seat which, was next to hers.

She looked at me as I sat and smiled brightly. Complete 180 of her previous expression.

"Kazuma-kun." She said "What took you so long?"

"Someone forgot to wake me up." I grumbled.

"Oh. I didn't hear anything from your room so I thought you already woke up and came here."

As soon as she said that the guy near us started imitating a fish.

"Something to say?" I asked him.

"You…You sleep together?"

"Same dorm." I narrowed my eyes.

"Oh. So Mioda-san would you-"

"No. Mind leaving me alone?" she sharply spoke.

He deflated before reluctantly going back to his seat.

"Ouch. That was cold."

"It's getting annoying. Constantly hearing them invite me out."

"Sounds awful-"

"Well, well. I thought you were gonna sleep in Dobe."

Oh great.

Not this guy.

I didn't have the mental fortitude to deal with him…

I resisted grunting before turning my head to look at him. He wore a simple black tuxedo that reached behind his knees. I had to stop at that. It probably cost more than my whole outfit…His pants were white and his shoes were black leather Cuban heel boots. Hair slicked backwards and dark brown with green eyes and an ever present arrogant smirk on his face.

"I thought you weren't going to show your face around here. Seeing as Kazuma-kun beat you so easily."

"That was all Kirijo. I know it. You know it. He knows it. Everyone knows it." He snarled at her and I glared "Still, I didn't come here to gloat…much."

"Then why are you here for?" She scowled.

"I came here-" he sat down in front me with his arms resting on the chair's backrest "To ask you if you know anything about a certain Kurusu Takaya?"

Kurusu Takaya.

The prime suspect for the crimes.

All bull.

"He's the prime suspect for the recent crimes."

"Correct. I'm surprised you know." He smirked. I wanted to punch his teeth in "Anything else about him? That's not public knowledge?"

"How are we supposed to know?" Mioda asked.

"Maybe you were friends. I don't know." He shrugged.

"What's it to you?"

"I plan on being a detective someday. The Kuzunoha name shall be mine." He flaunted that name around liked no tomorrow "I shall surpass my ancestor in both duty and skill." He smirked.

Good luck on that pal. The way you are now you're not reaching that legendary status or whatever.

"We don't know anything about him." I said suddenly.

"Even more useless than before, yomawushi." Mioda visibly stiffened at that and her fingers tensed around the pencil she was holding.

Me?

I got used to it.

Everyone can say mean words.

Everyone can say whatever the hell they want.

In the end words won't cut it. Actions matter.

The bell rang before any of us could say anything more.

He turned on his heel and walked to his seat.

The teacher came with a stack of papers in his hands. He had dark bags under his eyes.

…

He must've skipped sleeping.

Wordlessly he handed us the exams and I resisted groaning.

' _Consider the functions f(x)=_ _and g(x)= 9x+ 19b+97. In the standard (x,y) coordinate plane, y= f(g(x)) passes through (4,6). What is the value of b?'_

…

I only understood the numbers…

I looked at Mioda.

She was already on the move.

Her pen was on fire!

Welp.

I'm fucked.

No…

I shook my head and checked the next one.

' _Let l² ≡ 1/N. Choose a number at random between 0 and 1. Choose a second number between l² and 1 +l². Choose a third number between 2² and 1 + 2². Continue this process, until you choose an Nth number between 1 − l² and 2 − l². What is the probability that the first number you choose is the smallest of all the numbers? Assume that N is very large, and make suitable approximations._ _'_

…

What in the world is this?!

No.

I gotta focus.

Next one!

' _Assuming that the index of refraction of water is 4/3 and that raindrops are spherical, show that the location of a rainb-'_

WOOO!

Double rainbows!

…next.

' _Given any five integers-_ _'_

Yeah, screw this.

Bullshit luck, don't fail me now. Time to choose the answers at random!

* * *

She was at the police station.

The exams were easy. She finished them in half an hour and was long gone before making her way here.

Without her mother's approval or knowledge for that matter.

She resisted grunting at the memory of her mother.

How she loathed that woman.

She shook her head.

Best not to think about all that.

"Kirijo Aoi." She coldly stated her name as she passed by the dumbfounded guards. A couple of prisoners were either wolf-whistling or just ogling her.

That was to be expected.

She had a great figure and that wasn't bragging. That was fact.

Eventually she reached the cell she was looking for.

Cell 2-1

The one in the cell was different from the typical gruff and unclean man.

He had long dark hair tied in a ponytail with two ornamental needles stuck at the base of the ponytail in the shape of an 'X'. He eyed her with mischief behind his globes and smirked as his heterochromia eyes continued to stare at her.

"Aoi-chan!" he smiled as he approached the bars and leaned on them "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I found someone that can get you out of here."

His eyebrow quirked upwards "Oh? Who?"

"Kazuma Naoki and Mioda Sayaka."

"Are they that strong?"

"He is. Not so sure about the girl."

He hummed before looking away.

"Mkay!" he smiled before plopping himself on the hard bed there "Want to join me?" he winked.

She blinked.

"I'd rather not." She smirked "We are under careful surveillance after what you did to… _mother_." She sneered.

"Ah. She's still angry that…you know?"

"That we fucked?" she deadpanned though internally she cheered. Away from the prying eyes of her _mother_ and people all around her she could do whatever the hell she wanted. Cussing, drinking, fucking. Whatever she wanted, when she wanted, however she wanted.

It was amazing.

He blushed "Yeah." He never really could get behind cussing and whatnot. It just seemed crude to him.

"She is. But she is angrier that you tried to steal _that_ evoker." She shrugged "Amongst doing other things…" she muttered before sighing.

"Sorry."

"Look. I'm not here to give you shit. It's just…With this whole suspect thing and she trying to get me to run Kirijo corp after she's dead and add the whole getting that Yukimura before you are executed or worse affair ...Everything is just taking a toll on me…" she breathed hard at the end.

A hand touched her downed cheek before she looked up.

She saw him smile and she couldn't help but follow his example.

"I get it. Thank you for doing this for me."

She scoffed.

"I'm only doing this because you're huge."

"Oh yeah. Totally." He rolled his eyes.

"It's not like I care about you on an emotional level! The only thing that attracts me to you is that huge thing."

"I did eat my vegetables when I was young."

"Dick."

"Princess."

They stared at one another before they both laughed.

* * *

 _Bing Bong._

Ah sweet sounds of bells.

How I have missed you.

Mioda smiled as she got up and stretched. Her back popped with a most likely satisfying crack. She sighed contentedly before looking at me.

"Kazuma-kun are you alright?"

"Yeah."

"Then why are you just staring off into space?"

"Thinking about either rope or height."

She giggled at that and I smirked.

"I never got to ask but are you alright, Mioda?" I asked, suddenly serious "With the whole…you know?"

"Oh." She looked down "Yeah. I accepted my resurfaced shadow now. Sorry about the trouble."

"We all got stuff to hide. No reason to be sorry for."

"Thank you." She smiled.

"Ohayo." A quiet voice startled us. I looked back and saw Hana standing there with a three bento boxes in hands.

"Hey Hana." I nodded.

"Hello Atisuto-san." Mioda offered a crooked smile in an attempt to be polite to our new teammate.

"W-Would you…" she stuttered again "Would you like to have lunch?" she gestured towards the bento boxes.

At that moment everything was silent.

Eyes were on me and Mioda.

They were eager to see what we would do.

Ah.

Reputation.

Even here reputation's all that matters to people of my age.

"Sure." I said as people gasped.

"Kazuma-kun is hanging out with that third year?"

"Maybe he's afraid she'll summon her persona again."

"Damn. Coward much?"

A couple of guys snickered before they found themselves face to face with Mioda.

"Hey boys. I couldn't help overhearing you badmouthing my friend." She spoke sweetly while spinning a pen around her middle finger "Want to see me make this pen disappear?" she asked before her grin turned sadistic.

That was hot…

I sometimes wonder if my taste in women is wrong.

The two guys hurried out of the classroom and everyone else just went back to their things.

"Now that that's done…Shall we?" she giggled as she came back to us.

I nodded and the three of us went to the roof.

* * *

"Hmm. Wonder why Naoki-chan didn't pay me some visits." Ayasara spoke before taking a sip from a small cup of coffee.

"The kid?" Eiji Isao spoke. He was a tall man with extremely short black hair and a small beard, who was fair to all students. He was also too kind to them for his own good. As shown during a previous encounter with the school headmaster after giving Atisuto a chance.

"Yeah."

"Maybe he's made some friends." He offered as he stretched. Damn it felt good not to worry about the headmaster's grand plans.

"I doubt that. He's not the kind of guy who just makes friends." She frowned slightly.

What was wrong with her?

She didn't care about Naok-…Kazuma-san. She was sent here to study his behavior and keep him on a leash. As short a leash as she could manage without everyone knowing what was happening.

If there was one thing she was good at it was acting.

And healing…and also biology and anatomy.

Okay four things.

Give her a break. She was never good at math.

"Ayasara-san!"

"W-What?" she choked on the coffee she wanted to drink.

"You were spacing out."

"Oh, thank you Isao-chan." She grinned.

"Wow. So who's the lucky guy?" He smirked before she wound up in his face while glaring daggers into his poor skull.

"Lucky guy? What do you mean lucky guy? I'll have you know I'm still a maiden! I am still looking for the perfect guy! **I mean it is perfectly fine for a woman of my age to still be single! All the other girls are just trying too hard!** " Her eyes got a crazier look with every word spoken and her voice got colder…sinister. Her sweet smile slowly turned into that of a crazed stalker…

That was probably just his imagination playing tricks on him. Stupid manga with those Yandere girls…

He was pretty sure his back was going to break due to the way he was bending backwards.

How her legs bent that way was beyond him.

"O…kay?" he wheezed out. Man this academy was fucked up.

Conspiracies, crazy teachers, shady headmaster and he's fairly certain that the food served in the cantina is just junk found on the street.

What's next? A group of teenagers start doing the police's job?

"Good." And just like that she returned back to normal. It was like a switch "I'll go and look for Naoki-chan! He's probably awfully hungry." He sighed as she skipped out the room with a pink bento box in hand.

"Huh. Dad _was_ right. Women are crazy…" he looked outside as the Kirijo heiress arrived in her limousine. She felt his gaze and glared through the tinted windows. He tensed and awkwardly shifted his whole body until his back was turned to her "Also scary." He continued before sighing and looking at the newest batch of test papers that arrived.

"Might as well start now." He took a paper and read the name. He cursed himself internally. You never do that. So you don't have a biased opinion based on the name. It was common sense "Kazuma Naoki." He muttered "Huh. Let's see what our newest persona user has in that brain of his."

* * *

"I cannot believe you did that." Hana smirked slightly.

"What can I say? The new me doesn't let people fuck with my friends!" Mioda grinned and thumped her chest with her right hand. She regretted that decision as she unintentionally hit her left breast "OW, OW, OW!" she whined and rubbed it.

I blushed and looked away.

Hana grabbed her wrist and nodded towards me.

Mioda stopped and glared "What?" she looked at me and then at her hand still on her left fun bag "…Well. I guess my savior is a prude!" she grinned and went right up in my face. She had to stand on her toes to get there.

"Or maybe you just love to flaunt your body around." I smirked before she tried to hit me.

Keyword is 'try'.

I dodged before she could really lay into me "What?" I laughed.

"You perv! You totally enjoyed that!"

"I'm a healthy young man. I simply have an interest in the female body." I said that before I dodged again. I couldn't help but notice the smile on both her and Hana's faces as we messed around.

* * *

~Recharging complete~

~All systems functional~

~Booting up~

He opened his photoreceptors and surveyed his surroundings. He was in the room assigned to him in the dorm. Computers and every hacker's dream was located here. He got up and moved to the main computer before typing some things in it. His emotion modulator worked overtime as he found something after he cracked into Kirijio Corp's servers.

"Project Moon…" he blinked and he was kicked out suddenly. The security did their job "…What could it mean?"

Thankfully the only project that had this kind of security was this one. The others were fair game.

He stared at the screen as the information was registered in his processor.

"…I will need to inform Kirijo comma Aoi."

* * *

Unaware to Naoki, the school nurse was behind the door, listening on to their conversation. She looked down to her brightly colored bento box.

She frowned…

Why did him having fun with others trigger an aching in her chest?

Why did it hurt…?

She shook her head and started walking away.

No.

She couldn't think that.

She had a job to do.

And she'd be damned if she wouldn't succeed.

* * *

I sighed at the large number of customers. At this rate I'll be late for the meeting back at the dorm. I looked around to see if there were any people I knew…None. Great.

"Excuse me." Speak of the devil. I turned around and a young woman a little shorter than me stood. She had large tinted glasses with long black hair styled into a sideways French Braid I think the style was called. I remember Mioda talking about wanting to get her hair done like this.

I personally thought it wasn't all that great but it suited this woman. In any case she had a black choker around her neck with a heart broken in two attached to it. Her clothes were a plain black shirt and blue jeans along with high heels showing off her small feet.

"You are staring." She muttered.

I shook my head "Sorry." I apologized "Was there something you needed?" we made another step towards the counter.

"May I take your place in the line? I only have this." She gestured towards the cranberries yogurt she had.

I wasn't anything interesting "Oh sure." I moved away a bit and the two of us switched places "You look familiar." I couldn't help but say. It was true.

She was familiar.

…I saw her somewhere before.

"I get that a lot. I guess I just have a very common face." She shrugged and I narrowed my eyes before she paid for her magazine and left. I quickly did the same and caught up to her. I rounded around her and put my arm on the wall near her.

"Do you mind?" she asked while squirming in place.

I didn't say anything. I stared her in the eyes before sighing "Sorry. I really thought you were someone else. She owes me money you see?" I lied. No reason to get her to panic.

"I know that feeling." She muttered before she started walking away. I followed "Why are you following me?"

"Who said I'm following you? My house is this way."

"Oh."

"So what's your name?"

"…Rin." She hesitated for a moment before she answered.

"Alright Rin. If you see anyone suspicious do you mind if you let me know?"

"I guess I don't…"

"Naoki. Kazuma Naoki. Pick whatever name you want."

"Alright Kazuma-san. I'll let you know." We exchanged phone numbers.

CRASH

Here we go again.

 _ **Thou art I. I art thou. You have acquired the Devil Arcana. May its insidious power help carve your path.**_

Devil huh?

This was interesting.

Who knows? Maybe this leads somewhere.

Time resumed and we said our goodbyes after reaching an intersection.

* * *

"Here." Rin sighed as she handed the yogurt to the woman lazily lounging on the couch while flipping through TV channels. All about her.

"Thanks lil' sis." She tore the lid and dug in with a spoon "Something happened? You usually sneer more at me than this." She pointed with the spoon while a bit of yogurt fell down on the carpet. She paid it no mind and resumed eating while watching her _dear_ little sister.

"Nothing. I was almost mistaken for you." She grunted while preparing to clean the spot before her sister registered what she said.

"You didn't lead them here did you?" her hand crept towards her new evoker.

"And have you kill us like you did mom and dad. Yeah, sure. He's right behind the door."

"Don't get snarky with me!" her sister shouted and got up while glaring at her "Dear old mom and dad deserved it. They held our powers back."

"…With good reason…" the younger muttered as she cleaned "How much are you going to stay here? Can't keep the police off this place forever you know?"

"Ah don't worry your dumb little head with things like these. I'll be gone tomorrow. A job came in." she got up and stretched "And you don't mind if I borrow a bit of money do you?"

"How much?"

"Around fifty…thousand."

She wanted to scream but she knew her sister would just kill her on the spot if she didn't comply. It's how it's always been.

Instead of screaming she simply looked down and nodded.

"Good girl." She smiled with spoon in the mouth "Now get the fuck out of here. I'm trying to watch me." She laughed as another channel showed her photo.

Rin sighed and walked away, phone feeling heavy in her hand.

Perhaps it was the added weight of a second number she had.

She looked at the number before closing her flip phone with a flick of her wrist.

What could he do anyway?

"I thought I told you to get the fuck out of here! Go to your room. I can't watch with your ugly ass being in the same hallway as me!"

She growled and entered her room, slamming the door on the way and sliding down. She stood there, with her legs to her chest and her head on her knees.

"Mom…Dad…I'm sorry." She muttered before she fell asleep, tears continuing to flow down her face.

Such was the life in the Yukimura residence.

* * *

"I'm back." I said as I went through the doors. I widened my eyes as everyone stood still. Everyone was just…frozen in place.

"Ah." A familiar voice spoke "So this is the place that you live in." Eliza came from around the corner. Now that I got a better look at her I could see that she was older than me, probably by a few good years. She was also taller, way taller. Around 180 cm if I had to guess "It is marvelous. I have hopped to see the human world as the others before me but to be here brings me great joy."

"Why and how are you here?"

"Because I wanted to and I simply walked through the door." She smiled happily "Though I cannot stay for long. As you can see a being from the room affects everyone around them."

"I got the gist of it. Any reason why you are here? Besides cause you wanted to?" I said as I sat down on the comfy sofa there.

"I wanted to congratulate you on the bonds you have created up till now. You work quite fast." She grinned while fiddling with a clock "Tell me, what is this contraption?" she pointed at the fridge.

"It's a fridge, it holds food so it doesn't expire."

"Food can expire?"

"If you don't eat it fast enough." I shrugged before I realized something "Hold on a second what do you mean congratulate me?"

"Ah thank you for reminding me. Congratulations."

I blinked.

The fuck was wrong with my life?

"May I offer a deal Kazuma-san?"

"Shoot."

"Shoot what? I do not have a gun…" she looked disappointed.

"Yeah…you don't get sarcasm right?"

"Sarcasm? Where can I acquire such a thing?"

I sighed "Metaphors and all that just fly over your head huh?"

"Nothing flies over my head. I am nimble, I will surely catch them."

"Anyway, what deal do you want to make?" I asked before she sat down across from me.

"Ah yes. I would like you to show me around the world when you can. A previous attendant of the Velvet Room has done and I would like to see what she witnessed in this wonderful world."

"Sure." I shrugged.

"But you have not listened to what I offer…"

"Sure."

"…Very well. I shall reward you with increased capabilities of the Velvet Room if you show me around." She smiled "I hope to create a bond with you as other attendants have done with their guests."

Crash!

 _ **Thou art I. I art thou. You have acquired the Star arcana. May its twinkling light guide thee on your darkened path.**_

"See you soon, Kazuma-san!" she smiled before vanishing. Everyone suddenly started moving and doing whatever they were doing before. No sign of full stop.

"Kazuma-kun! Since when are you here?!" Mioda yelled suddenly alert of me.

"A few minutes ago?" I asked jokingly. I laughed slightly at her reaction before seizing everyone else. Kirijo was unnaturally tense and she looked troubled. Hana was calm as always and Kurogane was baking something.

Flashback!

" _So, here it is. Your new home." I said while helping her with her luggage. It was surprisingly light. Then again she did only bring her canvases, paint and brushes along with the obvious clothes._

" _Thank you." She nodded before she entered room and observed the surroundings. Nodding to herself once again and sizing a piece of a wall using her hands as a makeshift window. She nodded once more and started unpacking, first her canvases, then her clothes and then finally her paint and brushes "Naoki-san."_

" _Yeah?" I was staring at how diligently and robotically she worked. It showed that she did this hundreds of times._

" _Will Mioda-san be alright with me staying here?"_

" _She'll have to get used to it." I shrugged "Not my fault she can't forget that persona of yours."_

 _She flinched and I sighed "Sorry. Shouldn't have brought it up."_

 _She shook her head "I'm sorry."_

" _Don't be." I laughed "You'll help us out a lot. That persona was strong as hell." I grinned._

" _I cannot control her."_

" _You can learn. I'm still learning the ropes of having a persona, I'm amazed my gut feeling got me this far. Want to learn together? That's what friends do I guess."_

"… _Sure…Friends" she muttered at the end but I heard her._

 _The soft shy smile she had lit up the room._

 _Either that or the setting sun._

 _Crash!_

 _ **Thou art I. I art Thou. You have strengthened the Aeon Arcana. May its understanding help you find yourself.**_

Flashback end!

"I have some bad news everyone." Kirijo said while sighing deeply "Kurogane discovered what that world truly is."

"So? What is it?" I asked.

"It's…It's the collective sins that humanity has, given form. We were in the circle of Lust."

"So basically like Hell huh?" Mioda spoke up.

"What?" I asked.

"You know that Hell basically has nine circles right? Well Lust is one of them."

"Correct Mioda-san. Kurogane discovered that the place has been created by…a terrorist organization by the name of Hell's Children. Due to recent events the barrier between the two realms cracked and now we can access them through the use of mirrors."

"Wait a minute. Hell's Children?" Mioda asked "Didn't they disband a few years ago?"

"Yes. They did, but they did create the Mirror World before that and some have escaped."

"You're thinking Yukimura works for them aren't you?"

"Yes. There is no other way that she could have known about it."

"Plausible." Hana approved of that "Motive?"

"For killing all those people?" I asked, she nodded "Maybe she needed information?" I shrugged "I mean Mioda's dad did work for Kirijo Corp right?"

"Could be. But why not go for someone higher up on the food chain? My mother for example."

"Maybe she couldn't sneak in."

"I have a feeling that we will find our answers both by capturing Yukimura and traversing this…I do not know how to call it."

"Mirror Hell?" I joked.

Hana cracked a smile before she too came with a suggestion "Why not go with Circles?"

"Simple, gets to the point…I'm in favor of that."

"Same here."

"I guess I can go with it. It lacks a certain flair to it though!" Kirijo said while getting up "Since exams are done, we shall investigate this new world tomorrow night. During the day we shall get as many provisions as we can."

We all nodded before a beep was heard "Ah. I believe that the cake is done. Shall I go fetch it?" Kurogane asked. Kirijo nodded.

"Cake?"

"To…celebrate the creation of the team of course!" She laughed as Kurogane put the cake on the table. We all smiled as we dug in the chocolate goodness.

As we ate, Mioda bickered with Kirijo, Hana looked over her sketches and Kurogane stared at me, I couldn't help but feel it.

Crash.

 _ **Thou art I. I art Thou. You have strengthened the Fool Arcana.**_

I couldn't help but notice.

 _ **May its endless potential give you strength.**_

That this is how I imagined a family to be.

* * *

 **A/N: SO! It's been a long time hasn't it?**

 **Yeah...I simply had no drive to write with Persona 5 crashing into my life. All I was doing was pretty much like this:**

 **Wake up.**

 **Go to school.**

 **Quit after a few classes.**

 **Come home and play P5.**

 **Rinse.**

 **?**

 **Profit.(Yeah not so much.)**

 **Repeat.**

 **Welp. Got no clue when the next chapter's gonna be out but check the profile in the next few...hours? I'm thinking of posting some things about the characters there.**

 **See ya in the next chapter ;)**


	8. Preparations

**Quick note here, I went ahead and changed the name of Tsukuyomi's skills to their English name. For some reason, Japanese didn't sit right with me.**

 **Disclaimer: Persona series belong to their rightful owners. The only thing I own are the OCs.**

* * *

Knock.

I woke up to the sound of knocking.

Knock.

Knock.

…

The ones knocking on my door were really persistent about it, lemme tell you.

Knock.

Knock.

It couldn't be Kurogane because he would just pick the lock…Oh nevermind there he was, in the corner standing like a criminal watching his next kill.

That kill would be me by the way.

His head turned to the door and swiftly opened it, startling the one knocking.

Hana was behind the door with a shocked expression on her face, sketchbook in hand, pencils in the other.

She looked at me with a raised eyebrow before nodding towards Kurogane.

"He does that. Wants to analyze me." I yawned and turned around to face the wall.

"Kazuma comma Naoki. It is exactly 5 30 AM Sunday April 24 year 2029." I rolled my eyes.

"And? Sleep first. Dates later." I yawned again.

"Promised."

Promised…Promised what?

"You have promised to train with Atisuto comma Hana."

I opened my eyes in annoyance and stared at the wall "I did?" I asked.

"Yes."

DAMN YOU MY PREVIOUS SELF!

Ahem.

Sorry about that.

"Just give me five minutes. I'll be out soon." I said and the two left. I quickly got up and looked around for my clothes. They were nowhere to be found "Kurogane."

"Yes?" his voice came from the door.

"Where are my clothes?"

"I washed them. They affected my smell sensor."

…

…

I resisted my urge to blow the door down.

"What can I wear then?"

"The school uniform should be a good enough replacement until your clothes are wearable again."

I sighed and quickly donned the school uniform. It was a black jacket with a grey undershirt and black pants.

Simple.

But I guess it was stylish enough to at least give it a try. I kept my jacket open because style.

I got out of the room and met up with Hana.

"Let's go." I said and she followed "The school Gym should be open right?"

She nodded and the two of us made our way to the Gym.

* * *

"Let's see." She muttered as she looked over the profile "Age 19. Height…Weight…Where have I seen this guy before…Kazuma Naoki…" she stared intently at the photo next to the description of the target.

Her persona roared in her head as a few memories flooded her mind.

She smirked.

"So the brat from before has made some enemies." She laughed. Who cares that it was the school he went at, that put the hit on him?

She couldn't wait to find the guy and end him after what he did. She was going to get her evoker back and she'd be paid for it?

Can anyone say Jackpot?

Now the only thing she had to worry about was how to find him.

…

His friends and he did investigate the Mirror World. Maybe she should start there and look for them there.

She yawned.

Tonight.

She'll do it tonight.

"HEY SIS! GET ME SOME CHOCOLATE."

Wordlessly her little sister got out of her room and exited the house, slamming the door on the way.

She smirked "Good girl." She said before looking at the TV again. It was a rerun of the previous news. All about her once again.

Still.

They couldn't pin anything on her.

She was still an escaped convict but the crimes weren't in her style.

Her style was quick deaths not gruesome kills. Changing her MO was the best thing she thought of.

She looked at the profile again…

Tonight.

* * *

Well this was bad.

The gym was already occupied by the basketball team along with a few guys having a spar for combat practice.

All stopped as Hana and I entered. A few people even took a step back as their eyes landed on my companion. I nodded to her and we went to a secluded spot and started our training.

Simple summoning or in her case, drawing her attacks.

The point of it was to prolong the amount of time I could keep Tsukuyomi out. The only way to increase that was to summon him and keep him there.

Another thing we did was run a few tracks, two sets of fifty push-ups and double the squats.

Being in shape was needed for this after all. Especially for her because she was quite skinny. Summoning personas took a toll on the body after all. And a persona like hers I imagine would be a lot more painful than just a mild inconvenience.

A few hours passed and we stopped our training.

It was now 9 AM sharp and the two of us were exhausted.

Eh. Nothing a few hours of lazing around wouldn't fix.

"Thank you." She said suddenly.

"Ah don't mention it." I waved it off. It wasn't much anyway.

"I mean it." She insisted awkwardly "Thank you." She continued staring at me.

"Well in that case. You're welcome. But that's what friends do. Help each other right?"

"Wouldn't know." She shrugged.

Oh yeah. She didn't have that many…any friends before I came along.

I guess thinking like that, the two of us were the same.

Both outcasts for something we couldn't control.

But for me it was a little different.

If I hadn't met him when I did.

If it was a day later.

I might have turned out way different.

I may have not understood what real strength was.

Hmm…I wonder how Narukami's doing.

"That makes two of us." I smiled "Don't know what to do with friends. Didn't have that many."

"Here. Here." She mockingly raised a glass.

Crash!

 _ **Thou art I. I art Thou. You have strengthened the Aeon arcana. May its understanding help you find yourself.**_

She really isn't all that bad.

I laughed and we started walking home.

"…Bleeding." She pointed at my hand.

Oh yeah. I tripped while running. Just noticed it.

"Huh. I should go to the nurse's office. She should still be here. See you at the dorm Hana." I wave as I walked.

* * *

I knocked once and entered. I blinked as I saw Ayasara with her head on her desk and her arms at her side, lazily lying in the air "Uhh. Are you alright?"

My voice must have triggered something because she sprung up and smiled brightly at me "Naoki-chan! It's been so long! Did you forget about me?!" she stared intently at me.

"No. I just hung out with some friends."

"Introduce me! I need to see if they're not a bad influence."

My mind wandered to those quirky guys or was girls the correct term used in this situation?

Now that I think about it Hana and I are the only less weird.

Not normal.

Totally not normal.

Just less weird.

"They're not." I ended up saying "Trust me."

"Well if you say so Naoki-chan. Well then." She clapped once "What brings you here?"

I deadpanned and looked at my hand.

"Oh! Lemme fix that." She quickly got to work and started fixing my hand. A quick Dia spell and I wasn't feeling any pain in my arm. She had to bandage it so people wouldn't suspect she summoned her persona just for this.

"There! Good as new!" she smiled "Come any time you get hurt okay?"

I nodded.

I could feel her kindness all the way from here.

It was genuine. I could tell that much.

Crash!

Here we go. The Priestess-

 _ **Thou art I. I art thou. You have forged the Jester arcana. May its cunning trickery help you overcome your obstacles.**_

Jester huh…Wasn't her persona of the Priestess arcana?

Eh.

She can't be that bad…right?

"I'm off then." I said while waving goodbye.

You know…looking back on things I never noticed her smile on that day. Maybe things would have turned different if I did.

Moving on from that.

My phone vibrated and I quickly checked it.

It was a message from Kirijo.

' _I got enough medicine and painkillers for the trip. Now all that we need is equipment and provisions. Meet me at the dorm after you buy these items.'_

She listed off a few items of food and drinks.

I smirked and headed over to the convenience store.

* * *

She panicked as she saw the empty shelf. Where normally the chocolate her sister wanted resided was now air.

The last time her sister didn't get what she wanted…

She shuddered at that.

It was then that she spotted it. A single package of chocolate goodness. Unfortunately it was in the basket of another customer. She quickly went over to persuade them to hand it over. She tapped on their shoulder and he, as she quickly realized, turned around.

Black hair.

A quarter white.

Grey eyes.

…Kazuma Naoki.

"Hey there." He smirked "Saw anything suspicious?"

"May I have that chocolate. It's for my sister."

"And tell me. Why do I care?" his smirk persisted.

She had half the mind to tear him a new one.

If she was strong enough to summon her persona that is.

Damn her sister for traumatizing her!

"Please. She gets really antsy if she doesn't get what she wants. And if she gets antsy, things get destroyed." She sighed at that.

"Sounds like a real piece of work." He deadpanned "Wanna talk about it?" he offered his ears alongside the chocolate pack.

She looked at the given item before glancing at him. He was willing to lend an ear?

She smiled slightly and took both his time and the chocolate.

* * *

"And that's how I ended up here." Rin finished her little story. The two of us found ourselves in a pretty popular park around these parts. She was sitting down near the fountain while I stood up.

"No offense but your sister sounds like a bitch." I said while shifting the bag filled with snacks and drinks over my shoulder.

To my surprise she laughed "None taken. She is one. A big one too." She sighed somewhat happily "You know? I never talked to anyone about my problems. How come I can talk to you so freely?"

I shrugged "Don't know. Probably cause we're both orphans."

She quieted down at that "Yeah. Maybe. But at least you never knew them. That's less painful."

"Ehhh. I don't know about that. You can at least remember their faces. But hey. To each his own." I sighed "Whether we know them or not, there's no doubt. It sucks ass."

She giggled at that "Look at us. Pitying eachother." She looked at the water before at the clock "Oh shoot. I gotta go. She'll tear me a new one if I don't get there soon."

"Go ahead. Want me to walk you there?"

"Such a gentleman. Thanks, but I can walk." She smiled and started walking away "Hey Kazuma-kun?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we…Can we meet up again?"

"You got my number. Give me a ring whenever." I stretched aaaand-

Crash!

There it is.

 _ **Thou art I. I art thou. You have strengthened the Devil arcana. May its insidious power help carve your path.**_

We went our separate ways after saying goodbye.

* * *

Here I was. The dorm. Kirijo was already waiting, fiddling with her phone while leaning near the stairs.

"That took you awhile." She stated.

"Got caught up with a girl's problems at home." I shrugged "I lent her an ear."

"Hmm. Alright." She pocketed her phone and motioned for me to put the groceries in the dorm "Oh and bring your rusty sword with you. We might need it. Conceal it though."

I did and we took off to the shadier part of Shinjuku.

"Why are we here?" I asked as a guy stared at me with a smirk on his face. My right hand closed in on the handle of my sword.

"We can't allow anyone to know what we are buying. Now hurry up."

"Yes, yes your highness." I mocked before we entered a small store.

It was filled with flowers and balloons.

The fuck?

"We're throwing a party?" I joked.

"Quiet you." She growled.

"Hello! What can I get you?" a young woman smiled cheerfully at us.

Holy shit.

That was so different from all this.

"Cut the act."

"I need the magic words." She sang with a strained smile.

Kirijo sighed "Guns don't kill people. Unless you shoot them. Then they kill everything." She said "There. Good enough for you?"

"Of course" the young woman smiled sadistically before pressing a button under the table. All the flowers disappeared behind the wall and out came weapons.

So.

Many.

Weapons.

Katanas, broadswords, bows, nun-chucks, guns, guns and more guns.

I saw a small bazooka!

"So. Who do you want killed?"

"We need something to defend ourselves. Pick whatever you want Kazuma-san. I'll need to pick up an order."

I didn't need to be told that twice.

I looked around.

I could use a gun…

" _Persona-"_

 _Boom._

 _Thud._

…No thanks.

Sword it is.

I looked around the broadsword section and sighed. None of them suited my fancy. I moved on to the katana section and looked around but once again I couldn't find anything…

Hmm. I wonder…

I summoned Tsukuyomi and looked at him "Think you can help me out with something?" I asked. He looked amused "Whenever I summon you and we're in a fight, my sword catches on fire. Like that black fire of yours." He nodded "Does that work only on this sword or on all others?"

He shrugged.

Guess it didn't hurt to try.

I picked a random sword and it suddenly…did nothing.

He shook his head.

"So this metal club, sword…whatever, is special huh? Good to know. Thanks Tsukuyomi." He nodded and disappeared in the usual blue shards.

I looked around some more before I laid eyes on a M1911 if the tag on it was any indication. It was white with black wavy lines on it.

My mind wandered to Hana and Mioda. Neither had a weapon.

I shook my head.

Hana didn't need one. She was stronger than Mioda and I put together.

It was sheer dumb luck that I managed to beat her back then.

So, for Mioda. She could use something to defend herself other than her persona.

"Found something?" Kirijo spoke suddenly, startling me.

"Yeah." I recomposed myself "You really got to _not_ sneak up on people." I said before looking at the gun "Everyone needs something right? I want to buy this for Mioda."

She looked at it before glancing at the price. She smiled "Acceptable."

* * *

"How goes the experiment?" A cold, calculative voice asked while in the shadows of a building. It was male.

"The shadows have successfully infected the Mirror World. Strangely they have divided themselves into nine categories, each occupying a circle." Another male voice spoke, giddy with excitement.

"I see. How long until we can retrieve what we need?" A mature female voice continued.

"I still need to analyze some things. I cannot really estimate. Maybe if we didn't order Mioda to be killed we could've done this sooner." The giddy voice was gloomy "I would have loved to dissect him myself. You can never know with a Mioda. They were always so crafty."

"He knew too much. Simple as that. What about the… boy?" the cold voice asked.

"He's developed his persona. Quite a strong one indeed though it's similar, if not identical, to a previous persona user." The woman answered.

"Interesting. Is anyone looking into these 'incidents'?"

"…Yes sir. The boy in question, Kirijo's daughter, another boy we have no intel on and the daughter of Mioda."

"…I assume we already took steps to stop them."

"Yes. We already had hired Yukimura through the headmaster of the academy. She asked for less. It seems she has a personal vendetta against the boy." the woman spoke.

"Well done. Now get to work. I want this done as soon as possible."

"Alright. You're the boss."

The owner of the cold voice rose up as the others left the room. He looked outside the room through a crack in the window. He watched as the citizens of Shinjuku below him went on with their days as if all was normal, believing that the one committing the murders was that boy they blamed everything on.

Fools.

They were like sheep. Simply following one another. Put out a few rumors and eventually everyone will eat it up.

Kirijo was an even bigger fool for actually pressing charges against the young boy.

He smirked and looked at a digital map on his desk before glancing at a photo. It was of a family though the shadows covered the faces of the woman and the child, leaving only his visible. He scowled and looked at the map once more.

He was going to make them pay.

Each and every last one of them.

That…That was a promise.

He looked at the time.

Time to make a call.

* * *

The headmaster was looking over the tests the students have handed it. He was pleasantly surprised that most of them had rather good grades. Despite his true intentions, he still wanted these kids to succeed in life. Whether they went to the military or lived simple lives.

His phone rang suddenly.

He wasted no time and picked it up.

"Yes. Shimura Takashi speaking."

"…"

He froze as the voice spoke to him "Y-Yes. I understand." He got up in panic. A stupid little habit he could never get rid of "I already have hired Yukimura-san. You will see. She will dispose of him." He looked down "But sir. Do you really want to kill him? Nineteen years of-" he was cut off.

"…"

"I-I see. I'm sorry for doubting you sir. I shall have a full report once Yukimura catches him."

The line cut off as soon as he said that.

He looked at a profile and sighed.

Another project down the drain.

He scowled.

Not if he had anything to say about it. He just hopped the boy would survive.

* * *

It was getting dark as we went up the stairs of the dorm.

"Kazuma-san."

"What?" I asked as I turned around. She was at the first step while I was at the door.

"I've been meaning to ask you."

"Go on."

"How does it feel to think there's nothing you can do? How does it feel for people not to accept your decisions?"

Wow. Two questions for the price of one.

And they were pretty deep too.

"…"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"Thinking there's nothing you can do?" I said suddenly "That's a giant pile of bullshit." I looked at her "There's always something you can. Always." I went near her "And if you, yourself can't do that, then have the people that care for you do it for you. Sounds cheesy but that's all there is to it."

Words of wisdom, I tell ya.

Thank you, Narukami.

"And as for people not accepting your decisions I can say one thing." I breathed in "Fuck'em."

"H-Huh?" she was taken back.

"You heard me. Fuck'em. If they don't like how I am they can go screw themselves. If I change my hair just because someone doesn't like how I look, then I just become a hypocrite." I scowled briefly before giving her a weird look "So, why'd you ask me that."

"No reason." She shrugged.

She tried to not show emotion but I knew.

Crash!

 _ **Thou art I. I art Thou. You have strengthened the Empress Arcana. May its relentless justice guide your heart.**_

I smirked as the two of us entered the dorm.

* * *

She smiled as she went home after saying goodbye to Kazuma-san. He was a pretty good kid and he was willing to listen to her problems. He tried to help her by offering some solutions. He even offered to talk to her sister for her.

Her smile dropped when she looked at her door.

Too bad all she said was built on a lie.

A lie where her sister is not a psychotic murdering bitch.

She sighed and entered her house "Here." She handed the chocolate to her sister.

"Fucking finally!" the older exclaimed before she tore the sugary goodness from her hands and started devouring it. While she was distracted with the treat, she made her way to her room. She wanted to see her sister no more than this.

The older Yukimura was no idiot though "Hey!" she yelled just as she was about to open her door.

She winced.

So close!

"Yes?" she kept it short before making her way to the couch. Maybe it was just one of her moods and nothing important.

"Well let's see. You come later than you should and you don't scowl at me as much?" she raised an eyebrow "What happened?" she gasped mockingly before pointing a chocolate coated finger at her "Don't tell me you got a boyfriend!"

"He's just a kid who's a good listener." She went with the truth. She wasn't about to say the boy's name though. Her sister might now him and that is a no-no.

"Ohhh. I never thought you would be into younger guys you pedophile."

She scowled "He's just two years younger than me. Big deal." She said.

"Yeah, that's what others in the clink said too. Though they kept going and said 'Age is just a number.'"

"And prison is just a room." She muttered.

"So what's his name?"

"Why should I tell you?"

It was silence for a few seconds before her sister laughed.

"Alright! Be that way! I wanted to help you steal his heart but if you think you got it then fine." She smirked "I got tons of experience on the subject."

"Knowing you, you probably threatened them." She muttered before speaking up "Knowing you, you probably mean that literally."

"Now you get it." She said before getting up and stretching "Welp I'm off. Got a job to do. Have to hunt down this Kazuma kid."

She tensed at that.

Kazuma…

As in Kazuma Naoki?

Fuck. If it was like that then she should do something.

But what?

* * *

"Here you go." I said as I handed the gun to her.

"W-What?" she gingerly took it in her hands "Why?"

"So you can defend yourself." I shrugged "Without a persona I mean."

She stared at it as if it was going to come alive.

She looked at me and smiled "Thank you Kazuma-kun. I'll put it to good use." She said before tying the holster to her hips with the gun on the right side.

"Apologies. I would like to inform you two that the meeting shall begin shortly." Kurogane said suddenly.

We nodded and sat down.

Hana and Mioda sat next to one another surprisingly. Kirijo and I sat across each other at the table and Kurogane sat next to her.

"Before we begin I want to give everyone here something." Kirijo reached into the bag she carried here and pulled out four outfits.

"Phew. I thought everyone of them would be in bright colors." I smirked.

"Shut up! Neo Feather Man is for kids!"

"Never said anything about it." I laughed.

"S-Shut up or I'll execute you!" I quieted down at that before looking at my 'suit'.

It was black.

Without blue.

Where was my blue?!

I don't know about you but I'll let you in on a little secret.

Blue is the best color that graced our puny little eyes.

Ever.

I'll fight whoever says something different.

In any case.

The outfit was made out of a black material. I couldn't really put my finger on it. It wasn't leather but it sure as hell looked like it.

Anyway, mine was a long trench-coat with white tribal marks over it and the large hood. The trench-coat split down the middle. A black and white armguard, gloves made from the same material as the coat though one of them was white. The pants of the outfit were a very dark shade of blue-

GIMMEHGIMMEHGIMMEH!

…

Ahem.

Sorry you had to see that.

They were a very dark shade of blue, almost black. They were made from the same material and they came with grey suspenders.

Pff.

No way I'm wearing those pants with the suspenders up.

I'll just leave them down and if I put them just riiiight-

There.

Now they form a X.

Man, Mioda's having an influence on me.

For the boots…oh mama!

These aren't even out there.

"I know." Kirijo said.

Huh. Was I talking out loud?

Oh no. She was actually talking to Mioda.

Anyway, the boots were Cuban boots imported from overseas. They were made from the same material as the trench-coat.

Which brings up my next question.

"What are they made of?" I asked as I looked over the others' new outfits.

Hana had a black suit with a vest held by straps in the front that would cover her abdomen and would accentuate her small but developing breasts…Don't know why I just thought about that.

Moving on.

She had a pair of gloves that reached just below the elbow and a pouch tied to the right sleeve made to hold her drawing utensils.

The suit had a somewhat large hood alongside a built in mask and ended into a small skirt that seemed to absorb all light that went its way.

The skirt was pure black.

The pants she had were skin tight and had a strap on the left leg meant to hold her sketchbook while her shoes were a pair of dark grey running shoes.

Pretty stylish.

Mioda had a purple-ish jacket with a pair of long black pants. She had high heels that seemed to be sharpened enough to poke someone's eye out. Or heart. Or whatever organ she could get her hands-…feet-…heel on. Her high heels went up to her knees.

The jacket had a pattern of dark orange flowers on it with the back front not being able to be closed. She also had a black shirt that didn't look like it was going to cover her whole body. It would stop at the cleavage I hope.

…

…

I meant I think.

Stupid hormones.

…

Moving on.

She also had leather gloves but hers were black and reached right up to her elbow.

In addition to all that, she had one more article of clothing, a mask with a backwards veil that should cover her hair. The porcelain mask had lips painted red, twisted into a smile and smiling eye holes.

Kirijo herself had a small red jacket that reached her chest. She also had a black shirt with rose petals at the end of it. The pants were a darker shade of her jacket and were ripped slightly.

Probably a design choice.

Her shoes were black and were a pair of rain boots that reached halfway to her knees.

On top of all this she had a mask and a hat. The porcelain mask would cover only the upper half of her face and it had a sleek wavy design. The hat was a simple dark red fedora.

All in all pretty sexy.

…

I mean…ah fuck it you caught me.

They were sexy.

"Here." She threw something my way.

I caught it and looked it over.

It was another mask.

A white-go figure-porcelain mask that had simple design. It had a wide somewhat evil smile mostly because of the sharp empty eye sockets.

Me like.

"These shall be our new uniforms while we are out there doing our SEEKERS business."

"We're still calling ourselves that?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Yes. If you cannot come up with a better name shut up."

"Shutting up now." I smirked.

"The material from which the clothes are made and the mask will conceal our personas when we summon them. I have already tested the clothes and they work."

"Any questions?"

Mioda raised her hand with a serious expression.

"Yes?"

"Why am I the only one with a harlot suit?"

I snickered as the two butted heads again.

They were like sisters.

Always on each other's nerves.

Or at least that's how I suppose siblings would be.

Ah it felt good to have a family.

"As funny as this is." I started.

"Meeting." Hana finished.

"Oh yes." Kirijo calmed down "Today we shall begin investigating the Circles. I trust you are all prepared if we need to fight?"

We all nodded.

"Good. Now to appoint a leader." She looked at me.

"What?"

"Seeing as you awoke your persona not that long ago and you're already this strong I propose you lead us in potential fights." She continued "You did defeat Shinohara-san and he was the strongest fighter the school had to offer."

"Uhh, the only reason _we_ -" I stressed the word 'we'"-won that was because he underestimated me. We took him by surprise and by the time he was serious, that sensory type was already down."

"I think you'd be a great leader." Mioda butted in "I mean you saved me three times already. I would feel bad if I didn't support you. And you managed to fight against this girl's persona." She pointed her thumb at Hana who glared slightly at that.

She sighed "Agreed."

"Then it is a unanimous decision." Kurogane said "I do believe that you would be a great leader Kazuma comma Naoki."

Oh wow. Even Kurogane was complimenting m-

"Even if your intelligence and genitalia are painfully ave-" he was stopped right there.

By what?

By my foot.

"Put a sock in it." I growled "And what's that about my intelligence huh?!"

"Simple." He sprung back up "I have hacked into the school's database and looked at the test scores."

"I thought I told you not to do that."

"I was curious Kirijo-sama." He smiled almost sheepishly.

"Can you not tell us? I want to have my hopes crushed later rather than sooner." I asked.

He nodded while putting a hand on my shoulder "I will oblige Idiot."

"Your attempts at comforting me are only making things worse." I grunted.

Hana gasped suddenly.

"What is it?"

She was staring intently at a pen. It had a panda on it and was white with black spots.

"This…" she looked at Kirijo.

"Yes. It is Buchimaru."

Suddenly Hana got on her knees and bowed to Kirijo repeatedly.

You know how I said that the two of were the ones less weird?

Yeah…Scratch that.

I'm the only somewhat normal here.

"In any case." The red haired girl smirked. Her little power trip ended as Hana got back on her seat and started at her new pen "I do believe you are our field leader now." She handed us an earpiece "I can communicate with you telepathically but it does take most of my energy. This way we can talk without me being drained."

"Gotcha. What about Kurogane?"

"I have an in built radio system."

"Well alright. Are you all ready to head there? We'll enter from the dorm from now on." She glanced at the large mirror on the wall next to us.

"Let's go." I smirked.

"Uhh." Mioda started.

"What?"

"Shouldn't we get changed?"

We all got really quiet at that.

…

…

…

Yeah, we should probably do that.

I looked at the mask and smirked.

Who would have guessed that I'll be following in your footsteps?

But I guess life loves its irony.

Time for me to begin my journey as a Wild Card, huh Narukami?

* * *

 **A/N: So here it is. The next chapter. A little bit sooner than I expected but hey, the early bird catches the bookworm! Get it, get it? Cause it's a persona fanfic? And I used an Ikutsuki pun?**

 **Anyone?**

 **No one?**

 **Really?**


End file.
